Spark ideas, inspire change and fuel innovation - sharing research creatively

Posted by Ella Anderson, Fuse Public Involvement and Engagement Manager, Newcastle University

Have you ever wondered how to share your research in a way that engages with new and diverse audiences? Are there ways to share your work in a way that reaches the people it was designed to serve? If the answer is yes, then read on!

Research can spark ideas, inspire change and fuel innovation but all too often it gets buried in academic journals and dense reports that few people read, particularly the communities the research intends to serve. So what if there were more engaging, creative and accessible ways to share your findings? From interactive infographics and animations, to events, theatre and podcasts, Fuse researchers are re-imagining how to communicate their work with wider audiences.

Whether you are looking to captivate the public, influence policy makers or engage fellow experts, this post explores some creative ideas to make your research truly resonate.

• In the first instance, reach out to any people who you have worked with as part of your research including public partners, young people, charities and voluntary organisations. What would they like to see? Actively liaise with and listen to the communities your research is intending to serve - how do they want findings presented?

• Infographics and visual summaries can be a useful way to transform your findings into a simplified visual. Infographics are a graphic representation of information, data or knowledge to present complex content quickly and clearly. Emma Adams has worked with More than Minutes to summarise research about co-located services in a visual and accessible way. Steph Scott worked with Nifty Fox - specialists in visual storytelling - to produce a flipbook drawing on content from the ‘Divided Households’ report relating to children and parental imprisonment. Fuse Deputy Director Amelia Lake, Shelia Visram and team co-produced the Hyper Energy drink leaflet with young people to communicate key findings. Or what about a zine (DIY-style booklet or magazine) like this, ‘Moving Spaces’, co-produced by Caroline Dodd-Reynolds with LGBTQIA+ young people, exploring how physical activity spaces could be more joyful and safe.

• Short engaging videos, animations or explainers can be a great way to summarise research and impact. Using personal case studies or testimonials can make content more relatable to different audiences. For example, AskFuse (our research & evaluation service) collaborated with Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group to produce this video: How a 'Little Orange Book' is giving expert advice to help poorly kids.

• Theatre and performance is an exciting way of communicating research. For example, Cap-A-Pie and researchers including Mandy Cheetham were involved in developing an emotive theatre production called Credit, based on stories and experiences of people living on Universal Credit.

 

• Creative and engaging community events and workshops (with catering if you have budget!) are always a popular option. The more interactive, accessible and collaborative the better. Use the opportunity to close any feedback loops with people, charities, organisations who you have engaged with throughout the research. Show how you listened, what you found out, how findings are applicable to people's lives and work, and what happens next... keeping people in the loop is so important. Be sure to include opportunities for plain language Q&As and conversations, both informal (through breaks) and formal (via panel discussions). At one of Fuse’s International Women’s Day events, there was an optional gong bath for people attending the event. Although a sound bath may not have been directly linked to the research, the event was about creating a welcoming, inclusive and ‘safe space’ for people to come together.

• If you have the budget, consider having an event doodled in real-time. We have had colleagues who have worked with Camille Aubry, Josie Brookes and Nifty Fox who offer this skill. Get in touch with us if you would like any other recommendations when sourcing quotes.

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  Have you thought about gamification of research findings or using interactive digital tools? You can create interactive quizzes or clickable maps to allow people to explore findings in an engaging way, applying insights to local contexts. Simulation tools allow public partners and individuals to visualise the impact of different public health interventions based on research findings. Take a look at Joanne McGrath's online Maze, which provided an interactive resource portraying women’s narratives of multiple exclusion, homelessness and accessing support.

• Storytelling has long been a way to share information. Case studies lend themselves well to this, as human-centric narratives show the research in action. It can demonstrate how a specific person or community has benefitted or will benefit from the findings. Stories are a different way to 'humanise' data or translate findings in a way that is appropriate for the intended audience. For example, Cassey Muir and Ruth McGovern’s co-produced Twinkle Twinkle Arti children’s story book communicated messages about parental substance use in a gentle, age-appropriate manner. The book is available as a physical copy, an electronic copy and also has been made into a CBeebies style story time video.

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  Are there any opportunities for the use of creative methods throughout the project that you could bring together as part of an exhibition in a public space e.g. library, community centre, schools? Documenting the research and experience through photography, crafts or art can be a creative way of capturing interest and making research more understandable. Sarah Martin-Denham’s crochet blanket made up of 2,999 squares representing the number of children excluded every day from schools in England (2021/22 academic year) is a great example of this, and has been on a national tour engaging with 24 organisations - including the Children’s Commissioner Office and multiple councils.
  

• You can share bite-sized research or findings through social media channels using visuals, animations, short videos - or even livestreaming to provide information and engage with people in real-time. Have a hashtag at the ready to encourage people to join the conversation and share perspectives. In a similar vein, there are opportunities to share research and knowledge via 'Ask Me Anything' style forums, for example as seen on Reddit. Yes, this is low cost but it comes with risks as questions are unpredictable! However, it is worth flagging as an option and is a creative, ‘non-traditional’ way to share research and answer questions.

• Blogs, like the award-winning one you are reading right now, are a great way to share your research. Posts can make complex information more accessible to a wider audience. It allows you to present findings in a clear, engaging and informal style, reaching readers outside of academic circles, including policy makers, practitioners and the wider public. For guidance and support in writing your own blog post, contact Fuse Communications Manager, Mark Welford: m.welford@tees.ac.uk.

• Could you take your research findings to places in the local community? Fuse colleagues Balbir Singh (Artistic Director of the Balbir Singh Dance Company) and Paul Chazot displayed art works from their Unmasking Pain project in pop-up displays in GP surgeries and a repurposed shop in a shopping centre. There is now a dedicated space at the Grainger Market, Newcastle-upon-Tyne called the Being Well Place, which is a place to connect and engage with the local community.

• Do you have the option of translating materials/outputs for different audiences, and communities with diverse language needs? Translated summaries and visuals e.g. in multiple languages, work well and ensure inclusivity in dissemination. For example, Nicola Heslehurst worked with local designer, Twentyseven Design to develop English and Welsh infographics relating to pregnancy outcomes.

• And finally what kind of Fuse Public Involvement and Engagement Manager would I be if I wasn’t promoting the wonderful and award-winning public partner-led podcast Public Health Research and Me?! Accessible, informative, flexible and friendly - this is a great way to share quality research with a diverse and international audience. 

There are many more creative ways to share research and remember - there is a no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to sharing your findings. Always take into account your research topic, your findings and above all your target audience.

Why not send us a message today if you have used a creative or innovative way to share your research or findings? We would love to hear from you and find out more ways to promote and share high quality research.

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Following strong interest from Fuse members, we have launched a Community of Practice (CoP) focused on creative research, involvement and dissemination.

The first meeting will take place in the New Year. Places are limited for the first event but please register or get in touch (info@fuse.ac.uk), as there will be plenty more opportunities in future!

A CoP is a network of people who share common interests and goals, creating a space for knowledge exchange, learning, and mutual support.

Nourishing our tomorrow needs to start today

Posted by Professor Amelia Lake, Fuse Deputy Director, and Professor of Public Health Nutrition at Teesside University

How do we create a future where every child has access to healthy, affordable food?

That question took centre stage at the British Nutrition Foundation annual conference, which brought together academics, policymakers, and practitioners to tackle one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time: improving the diets of children and young people.

The event was given a special highlight with the attendance of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Patron of the British Nutrition Foundation, who delivered a powerful address on the importance of food in society and education.

Professor Amelia Lake and collegues meeting Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal

Children’s health and children’s diets are hugely important. Yet, rising rates of obesity, food insecurity, and exposure to unhealthy food environments challenge the ability to have affordable and healthy food.

This conference explored both the challenges and solutions, offering evidence-based insights and practical strategies.

I spoke in the morning session alongside my Fuse colleague Professor Greta Defeyter (Northumbria University) and Professor Maria Bryant (University of York). A great representation of Northern University academics!

Profs Maria Bryant, Greta Defeyter, Amelia Lake (L-R) 

Our morning session had a very special guest in the audience, Patron of the British Nutrition Foundation, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. Earlier the speakers were invited to meet The Princess Royal and individually talk to her about our work. A good ear for accents, Her Royal Highness. quickly recognised I wasn’t a Teesside native. Those who know me will be aware that I am from Northern Ireland, and I very much sound like I am.

My talk was titled: “Unpacking the Food Environment: Implications for Children and Families” and I discussed Healthy Planning and was able to introduce the audience not just to our academic evidence but also our evidence informed free online training on the topic aimed both at public health and planning teams in local authorities.

I presented our recent ‘Dark Kitchens’ research. The rise of online meal delivery and “dark kitchens” is reshaping how families access food, increasing exposure to calorie-dense options at the click of a button and increasing the availability of accessibility of less-healthy food choices.

While planning allows us to shape our food environment there is much we can do around food retail to create healthier food environments. I discussed some findings from our Fuse Foodscape study funded by the NIHR School for Public Health Research.

We cannot describe the food environment without acknowledging that many households face significant barriers to accessing affordable, healthy food, with direct consequences for children’s health and wellbeing. Food insecurity is real and affects families across the UK. At Teesside, we have worked with communities and organisations using innovative methods to produce healthy food within local social supermarkets such as our healthy ready meal.

Amelia speaking at the event

I called for stronger planning policies and interventions to create healthier food environments, emphasising the importance of collaboration between communities, professionals within local authorities, government and industry.

Improving dietary health isn’t simply about individual choice - it’s about transforming the food environments in which those choices are made.

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has been patron of the British Nutrition Foundation since 1988 and delivered a powerful speech at the conference, emphasising the importance of food in society and within education. Her remarks reinforced the British Nutrition Foundation’s mission to ensure every family can access a healthy, sustainable diets.

The conference showcased many impactful speakers and left us with the key message that Nourishing our tomorrow, needs to start today.

The British Nutrition Foundation hosted its annual conference, Nourishing Tomorrow: Equipping Children and Young People for Better Dietary Health in the Future took place on Tuesday 25 November 2025.

Brand to ban: What young people really think about energy drinks

Posted by Professor Amelia Lake, Fuse Deputy Director; Dr Helen Moore, Fuse Associate; and Grace Stewart - Teesside University. 

Walk into any corner shop, and you’ll see them lined up in the fridge: brightly coloured cans promising energy, improved focus and even hydration. They’re everywhere online too, all over social media feeds... What are we talking about? Energy drinks. They have become a familiar part of the landscape in the UK, but particularly for young people who are consuming them in ever increasing numbers; the question is, why are they so popular, and what is being done about it?

What are energy drinks?

High-caffeine energy drinks are soft drinks that contain at least 150 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per litre of drink, which is higher than other soft drinks. Back in 2018, Jamie Oliver led a campaign that resulted in many retailers voluntarily banning sales to under-16s. Fast forward to July 2024, and the new Labour Government announced in the King’s Speech that it would restrict the sale of energy drinks to under-18s. There is currently a live Government consultation around banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children which will close on 26 November 2025. If you want to contribute, please do so.

Our research

Our mixed-method qualitative study was published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics this week. The work was carried out in North-East England and sheds light on the reasons behind young people still consuming these drinks in large numbers, and what they, the consumers, really think could be done about it.

Our research involved:

• Focus groups with 50 students aged 9–14 years old
• A survey completed by 22 Year 9 students (aged 13–14 years old)

The aim was to understand how children and young people perceive energy drinks and hydration drinks, and to explore their consumption habits post the UK’s 2018 voluntary sales ban to under-16s. This follows on from our earlier work published in 2017.

What did we find?

• 81.8% of surveyed students (13-14 year olds) consume energy drinks, with boys drinking more frequently than girls.
• Most young people drink EDs 2-4 times a week, and many started before age 12 years.
• Taste, branding, and peer influence were major motivators.
• Corner/local shops were the most common purchase point, often with little enforcement of age restrictions.
• Hydration drinks (e.g. PRIME) are seen as healthier alternatives, though their actual health impact is still unclear.

So, why are energy drinks so popular?

Through the focus groups, we learned that young people are really clued-up about energy drinks. They talked about branding, marketing, taste, peer influence, cost, and just how easy it is to get hold of them. From YouTube ads to celebrity endorsements (think F1 and YouTubers like Logan Paul and KSI), marketing was seen as a powerful force driving consumption. One young person said:

“If I made the exact same drink, in a bottle, no one would buy it.”

Bright colours, cool designs, and slogans were all cited as reasons that young people are drawn to these products. Many of the young people taking part in the research knew that they were being targeted by the manufacturers, but they didn’t mind. In fact, some saw energy drinks as part of their identity, linked to gaming, sports, or just being “cool.”

Policy gaps and opportunities

Despite the 2018 voluntary ban mainly in supermarkets, energy drinks remain easily accessible. Many children believed there was a legal age restriction but said that they could still buy energy drinks from shops or online without ID checks. This links back to the importance of the current live consultation around Energy Drinks and sales restrictions.

This raises an important point for policymakers to consider: if energy drinks are still seen as aspirational, accessible, and part of youth culture, young people will find ways to get them, or switch to similar products that exist outside of the ban. There needs to be a wider strategy to tackle this, which means tighter regulation of marketing (anywhere that young people spend their time - including online spaces), effective, up-to-date, accurate education about the health impacts of energy drinks and the tactics used by manufacturers, and importantly including young people in this conversation.

Our research shows that young people are not passive consumers of energy drinks. They’re thoughtful, aware, and influenced by a range of social and cultural factors that need to be understood if we want to reduce energy drink consumption.

Our study had several possible interventions suggested by young people:

• Actual legislative enforcement of age restrictions.
• Changing product placement in stores (e.g., away from essentials and in areas similar to cigarettes and alcohol).
• Duller packaging and clearer health warnings.
• Wider awareness around health risks.

Why this matters

Energy drinks are linked to a range of health issues; from insomnia and anxiety to obesity and poor academic performance. Yet, their appeal among young people remains strong, driven by clever, pervasive, marketing in addition to peer influence.

Our paper highlights the urgent need for strong policy action, increased awareness, and further research in this space.

Images:

1: Photo by (Joenomias) Menno de Jong from Pixabay

2: Photo by thom masat on Unsplash (with modifications)

Changing the narrative on gambling harms in the North East

Posted by Dr Andrew Richardson - Research Associate (Gambling Harms), Newcastle University; Alice Beadle, Public Health Specialist - Gambling Harms, Middlesbrough Council; and Laura Sheridan, Public Health Officer – Gambling Harms, Middlesbrough Council

Gambling is staking money, or something of value, on the outcome of something involving chance. Gambling activities can include arcades, esports and video games, betting shops, online betting, gaming machines, lotteries, bingo, casinos and other common types of gambling. Gambling harms affect thousands of people across England but the North East faces the greatest risk. National estimates suggest that 3.8% of people are at elevated risk from gambling. In the North East, that figure rises to nearly 5% of people aged 16 and over - the highest rate of at-risk gambling in the country. These people experience a range of negative consequences, from financial hardship to serious mental health challenges.

To explore the scale and impact of gambling harms in the region, read the Regional Health Needs Assessment for Gambling.

What are gambling harms?

Gambling harms are any negative consequence or side effect experienced because of gambling. They may be felt by the person who is gambling or may be experienced by those close to them, such as a family member, friend or colleague, known as ‘affected others’. For each person who experiences gambling harm, on average six others are affected - often partners and children.

Whilst anyone can be harmed by gambling, it does not affect everyone equally. The harms from gambling are varied and may also be interconnected. They include:

• Increased stress and poor mental health (such as anxiety, depression and suicide risk).
• Financial hardship, debt, asset loss and bankruptcy.
• Relationship breakdowns due to increased conflict, issues with trust and stress associated with harmful gambling. There are also links between gambling and domestic violence.
• Reduced performance and absenteeism in education and in the workplace.
• Stigma and shame associated with gambling behaviour.
• Threatening behaviour, damage to property, fraud and theft.

For many, gambling harms leave a legacy and may be experienced for many years after the event.

A public health approach

The Association of Directors of Public Health in the North East (ADPH NE) Gambling Harms Programme aims to tackle the harm caused by gambling in the North East with a coordinated regional approach. The Programme received funding that originally came from a gambling operators’ penalty but was redirected by the Gambling Commission - called a ‘regulatory settlement’.

Gambling harms are complex, and prevention approaches need to move away from ‘personal responsibility’ to population-wide social, economic and environmental interventions. Messaging from the gambling industry often sets the narrative by placing responsibility onto the individual to address harmful gambling, despite the many ways gambling products are designed to be addictive. This can lead to increased stigma and shame and create additional barriers to help-seeking behaviour.

The Regional Office, a team hosted by Middlesbrough Council, supports the 12 Local Authorities in the North East to pilot prevention approaches to help reduce gambling harms. The Programme has developed resources which include awareness raising materials and evidence summaries to support practitioners in local authority settings.

Eight key priority areas have been established under the Regional Office:

1. Support and Partnerships – Responding to requests from local authorities and wider stakeholders to support understanding of gambling harms and embed prevention activity.

2. Advocacy – Contributing to the shaping of policy at a local, regional and national level by promoting a public health approach to support those impacted by gambling harms and to build an environment that prevents future harm.

3. Media, Communications and Education – Raising awareness of gambling harms and aiming to reduce stigma.

4. Treatment – Promoting regional treatment services and referral routes for residents and professionals across the North East of England.

5. Data, Research and Evaluation – Develop and create evidence bespoke to the North East and contribute literature to the national evidence base regarding gambling harms.

6. Licensing – Supporting planning and licensing colleagues to create environments that prevent future gambling harms.

7. Protecting Young People – Recognising the risks of gambling to children and young people, and developing resources to support caregivers to reduce risks of gambling harms.

8. Lived Experience – Co-producing all outputs with the Lived Experience Forum, made up of members from across the Region. This ensures all outputs reflect real-world experiences and have maximum impact.

To learn more about gambling and gambling harms, please use the ADPH NE Gambling Harms slide deck or access free Making Every Contact Count (MECC) and Gambling Harms training here.

You may also be interested in these national resources:

• Local Government Association (LGA): Tackling gambling related harm: A whole council approach.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): Gambling-related Harms: Identification, Assessment and Management.
• OHID Gambling treatment and support in England: main findings and methodology.
• Gambling Commission Young People and Gambling report.

Learning from others

The North East Programme was inspired by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and ADPH Yorkshire and the Humber to share findings and best practice. The three regional programmes collaborated on a Language Guide to promote language choices that reduces the stigma associated with gambling.

Building the evidence

The Programme will be evaluated and this will contribute to the evidence base on actions to reduce gambling harms, which is currently dominated by gambling industry narratives. The team is working with local partners to explore the wide range of healthcare services and practitioners who may be in contact with gamblers or people affected by gambling and educational toolkits for schools and communities etc. To learn more, see this academic paper co-authored by Fuse researchers or view a free slide deck that summarises the latest research on gambling harms.

Lived experience

The Programme also facilitates a Lived Experience Forum to help shape work happening across the region. If you have experienced gambling harms, either directly or as an ‘affected other’ and are based in or from the North East, this is open to you. If you would like to influence the work being done to tackle gambling harms in the region, please email GHR@middlesbrough.gov.uk.

Stay in the loop

The ADPH NE Gambling Harms newsletter includes news about events, new research, resources like podcasts and documentaries, and ways to get involved. Join the newsletter mailing list by contacting GHR@middlesbrough.gov.uk or complete the sign-up form here. New resources can also be found on the ADPH NE Gambling Harms website.

Treatment and support

Visit the Gambling Harms MECC page to find treatment, support and blocking tools. For some people in recovery from gambling harms, treatment may be the best option, whereas peer support groups may be better for others. Professionals can refer directly into these services. This may make it easier for those needing treatment and support to take the first step on their recovery journey.

Photo by Michele Lana on Unsplash

This time the hare might win: dark kitchens and the regulatory race

Posted by Helen Moore, Associate Professor (Research) & Fuse Associate, Teesside University 

Do you remember the fable of the tortoise and the hare? The one where the overconfident hare sprints ahead, but takes a nap, and lets the slow but steady tortoise win the race? Well, in today’s digital economy, that story’s getting a reboot, but this time, the hare isn’t napping.

In the world of food delivery and online ordering, the hare (the digital entrepreneurs) is wide awake and developing food purchasing opportunities at an incredible speed. Online delivery outlets, often functioning as dark kitchens, are agile, tech-savvy, and unburdened by the red tape of traditional business models. They’re using popular, well-known apps to reach huge numbers of people, launching new brands overnight, flooding menus with similar, but subtly different options and delivering meals faster than regulators can say “planning permission.” Low overheads, high levels of flexibility and choice have meant that rates of online food ordering are increasing, with the covid-19 pandemic accelerating this phenomenon.

Meanwhile, the tortoise (well-meaning but less agile local and national government) is still trying to understand the race in which it has been entered. Regulators are struggling to keep pace with a food industry that’s evolving in real time while the professionals working in local authorities hit ‘speed bumps’ which include outdated planning laws and limited evidence. For example, there is no clear use classification for dark kitchens, and some councils treat them as “industrial”, others as “sui generis” (unique), and there is inconsistent enforcement between local authorities. While some local authorities have implemented restrictions on takeaways opening close to schools, online food ordering apps mean that food can be delivered from places outside of the restricted areas. In addition, due to limitations with the recording of food outlet data, policymakers also find it hard to track spread or assess impact of dark kitchens which contribute significantly to this industry.

While innovation races ahead, regulation is not keeping pace, raising questions about public health, urban planning, and fairness. This isn’t just a story of speed, it’s also a story of systems, and unless the tortoise finds ways to modernise the traditional policy cycles to become proactive rather than reactive, and to reduce potential loopholes, the hare might just win this one, particularly as consumers like convenience and variety, which online ordering offers in abundance.

So, what can be done?

National and local authorities need to rethink how they engage with fast-moving digital industries - not to stifle innovation, but to ensure it serves the public good. We need clear national guidance on planning classifications, and health-focused planning laws that include digital-only food outlets. It isn’t all bad news though, there are some signs of progress with local authorities beginning to enforce planning permission requirements and with funded research projects examining various aspects of dark kitchens.

Free online training

To support local authorities and communities in using the planning system to promote healthier diets and reduce obesity, we have launched a new, free e-learning course called Planning for a Healthier Food Environment. The course was developed through a collaborative effort between Fuse (the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health), academic experts from Teesside University and Newcastle University, and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).

This one-hour online Fuse Research Event, held on 23 September, introduced the wider policy and planning context for the course, provided insights into its cross-disciplinary development, and outlined how the resource can be applied in practice to support healthier, more equitable environments.

Photo by Roman on Unsplash

Not just what’s on the menu - the hidden forces behind food choice

Posted by Helen Moore, Associate Professor (Research) & Fuse Associate, Teesside University 

On Saturday, I had one of those incredibly energising moments that remind you why you do the work you do. I was invited to present at the Right To Food UK Conference at the University of Westminster. It was a powerful event led by Ian Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby. The event represented a crucial moment for shaping policy and driving action to realise the right to food in the UK. The room was full of policymakers, researchers, and advocates, all engaged and working together talking about the issues.

So proud to open the UK’s first national Right To Food conference today. No one should be going hungry in the world’s 6th wealthiest nation - hunger is a political choice & it can be solved, so that’s what we want to do: End hunger. #RightToFood #HungerIsAPoliticalChoice pic.twitter.com/p7IdeoeyQT

— lan Byrne MP (@IanByrneMP) September 13, 2025

Fuse Associate Helen Moore pictured third from the left

The invitation to speak followed my attendance at the launch of the Hungry for Change report by the Child of the North All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) earlier in July. It’s been a privilege to be part of this journey, co-authoring the Environments chapter with Andrea Burrows, Amelia Lake and Claire O'Malley from Teesside University and Fuse (the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health), and Mark Green and Emma Boyland from the University of Liverpool.

Our chapter of the report looks at how the places and systems around us shape what we eat, often without us even realising it. We looked at everything from fast food outlets to social supermarkets, to advertising, to digital delivery platforms and planning policy. The big takeaway message? Food environments matter. And crucially they’re not the same for everyone.

So, what’s a food environment?

It’s not just about what’s in your fridge. It’s about what’s available in your local shop, what’s advertised to you on billboards and on your phone or computer screen, what your school or work canteen serves, how far you live from a supermarket, and even what your friends and family eat. It’s shaped by everything from planning and transport networks to cultural norms, pricing strategies, and national policies. Have you ever wondered why your local shops have two pizza places but no greengrocer? That’s a food environment in action. It is shaped by planning decisions, business models, and economic pressures, not just personal choice.

And here’s the kicker: these environments aren’t the same for everyone... If you live in a more deprived area, you’re more likely to be surrounded by cheap, high-calorie options, adverts for these types of foods and are less likely to have access to fresh, affordable food. That’s not a personal failing; it’s structural inequality.

What did our chapter of the report say?

Advertising
We explored how advertising aimed at children overwhelmingly promotes unhealthy foods. Even short exposure to adverts for fast food or sugary drinks can increase kids’ energy intake and influence their choices. And children in more deprived households tend to watch more commercial screen media, making them more vulnerable to this kind of marketing.

Community Food Organisations
We also discussed community food organisations, which are an innovative and alternative food relief model to food banks. They exist to try and tackle both food insecurity and food waste simultaneously. They utilise surplus from mainstream food retailers and sell via the usual supermarket format (adding items to a basket and paying at a checkout) but at greatly reduced prices. With lower costs than a traditional supermarket, and less stigmatising than using free emergency food aid, this model shows promise. Some of these organisations operate beyond a supermarket model, and offer additional social support, such as employment training, guidance with benefit claims, or community-building activities, but this differs across organisations. While these differences demonstrate the adaptability of the model, it also makes it difficult to establish a universal definition of community food organisations.

Fast food, screens, and the rise of dark kitchens
One of the most striking findings of our chapter was the increase in fast food outlet accessibility in the North, with an 84% rise in people living within 1km of a fast-food outlet between 2016 and 2025. However, we now must consider that access to food, including fast food, has moved to the digital space. We’re seeing a shift from people going to their local fast-food outlet to order, to using technology on a variety of screens to order food. In a recent piece of work, we found that one business (a delivery only kitchen, also known as a dark kitchen) could appear as eight different restaurant options on a food delivery app. What looks like more options for consumers, means more visibility for businesses, but all the food will be coming from the same place. It’s clever marketing, but it also widens the gap between consumers and the food they’re eating.

So, is this a problem?

I think it is something that needs looking at, particularly as another aspect of this is that planning regulations as they currently stand, (like preventing takeaways from opening near schools) don’t really apply to these virtual kitchens. They can deliver further, run more cheaply, and bypass traditional oversight. It’s a whole new frontier (this digital food environment), and one we urgently need to understand better.

Why does this matter?

At the conference on Saturday, I had the chance to present some of our report findings and speak directly with people who were interested in making changes in this area and improving food access for all. Seeing their genuine interest, being able to answer questions and provide context, was incredibly rewarding. These are the moments that remind me why this work matters, not just in theory, but in practice.

We need to stop thinking of food environments as neutral. They’re shaped by policy, economics, advertising, culture, marketing and technology. Food environments have been shaped and moulded to encourage us to eat less healthy food. The good news is that they can be reshaped. That means investing in healthier options, regulating advertising and marketing, supporting community food initiatives, and making sure digital platforms don’t become the new food deserts and swamps.

Food is more than just fuel. It’s about dignity, culture, and care. And we all deserve a food environment that supports our health and potential no matter where we’re born. To borrow a line from the report’s foreword: “Food insecurity is not about poor choices – it is about a lack of choices.”

Everyone deserves access to good food. Whether you're a policymaker, a researcher, or someone who just wants better options in your community, there’s a role for you in reshaping the food environment.


🔗 Read the full report here - Hungry for Change: Tackling Obesity and Food Insecurity in the North of England

What did you eat yesterday? The messy science of measuring what we eat

Posted by Dr Kath Roberts, Senior Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition, University of York

Ask anyone what they ate yesterday and you’ll likely get a pause, a guess, and maybe a laugh. That’s the reality nutritional epidemiologists (scientists who study how diet affects people’s health) work with every day. Measuring what people eat sounds straightforward but is surprisingly complex. And yet, understanding dietary intake is central to advancing nutrition science, improving public health, and shaping government dietary guidelines.

Increasingly, attention is turning not just to what people eat, but how well they eat overall. The concept of diet quality, looking at the overall balance, variety, and healthfulness of the diet has become a cornerstone of nutrition research. It also offers a way to bring together fragmented messages about nutrients, food groups, ultra-processed foods and national guidelines into one meaningful measure. But defining and measuring diet quality is just as tricky as tracking individual foods.

This blog reflects on the practical and scientific challenges of defining, collecting, analysing and interpreting dietary data and reflects on how improvements in methods and technology are shaping the future of dietary data.

Why measuring diet is so difficult

Capturing dietary intake data involves a tangle of practical and methodological problems. First, there’s the human element. People often don’t remember exactly what they ate or may selectively forget. This recall bias is especially tricky with foods eaten on the go or in small amounts. Then there’s social desirability bias. People want to give the “right” answers, especially if being questioned by an actual human (as opposed to filling out a diary or survey). So while a few honest folk might confess to having a chocolate bar for breakfast and a midweek takeaway, many prefer to report kale and quinoa - or at least a committed adherence to the holy ‘five-a-day’ grail. The result? A gap between what people say they eat and reality.

Then there’s the issue of burden. Some methods, like weighed food diaries, ask a lot of participants. Accurately weighing and logging every bite is time-consuming and often tedious. It may even change behaviour just to make recording easier. My own experience some years ago with logging foods through a free and widely used app was that it made me lean towards buying and consuming processed foods that I could just scan the barcode of, rather than cooking from scratch or shoving whatever was in the fridge onto a plate as I usually would. Other methods like food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and 24-hour recalls try to reduce this burden but come with their own compromises.

Tools of the trade: strengths, weaknesses, and trade-offs

FFQs remain popular in large epidemiological studies because they’re cost-effective and can capture habitual intake over time. However, they rely on memory and a fixed list of foods that might not reflect cultural or personal variation, only capturing, by design, data on what they ask about. 24-hour recalls offer more flexibility and less reliance on long-term memory, especially when conducted with structured prompts like the USDA's multiple-pass method. But they only capture a snapshot in time and one day rarely reflects the whole story. Diaries, whether weighed or estimated, provide rich detail but at a cost. They demand motivation, literacy, and a willingness to record every meal, snack, and nibble without altering usual habits.

Brief screeners, like the US Healthy Eating Index or dietary diversity scores, offer pragmatic options for surveys or interventions. They’re easier to administer and analyse, but they tend to gloss over the nuance of full dietary patterns. And they still face questions of sensitivity and specificity - are they really measuring what matters most for health?

So what is a healthy diet anyway?

Amidst the tangle of dietary data collection challenges, there is the important question of ‘what is a healthy diet’? This is where the idea of diet quality comes in. Rather than counting single nutrients or fixating on particular foods or food groups, diet quality looks at the whole picture: how balanced, varied, and aligned with health guidelines someone’s overall eating pattern is. It’s become a cornerstone of nutrition science and epidemiology, but it’s surprisingly hard to pin down and turn into a clear, usable measure for research.

This also matters for public health messaging. People are bombarded with a range of different messages. We have the NHS Eatwell Guide, the High Fat Salt Sugar (HFSS) advertising restrictions, front-of-pack nutrition labelling, SACN Dietary Reference Values, rising concerns about ‘ultra-processed foods’ - and these don’t always line up. Each of these frameworks is based on different criteria and assumptions; food-based, nutrient-based, processing-based - which can send mixed messages and make public health advice feel inconsistent or overwhelming. Without a consistent definition of what a ‘healthy diet’ looks like, it’s easy to get confused.

That’s why the idea of diet quality is so powerful: it can provide a coherent construct that integrates these strands and translates complex nutritional science into something more intuitive and holistic. But the reality of defining and measuring diet quality is messy. Efforts like the UK-DQQ show promise, offering a simple, food-based screener aligned with national guidance, derived from empirical dietary patterns and validated against both biomarkers (e.g. blood and urine) and nutrient intakes. But even this needs updating as dietary trends evolve and must be validated in diverse population groups.

The trouble with comparing apples to oranges (or diet scores to diet scores)

No universal agreement on how to define a ‘healthy diet’ contributes to variation between studies, making it hard to compare results or synthesise evidence. Some researchers focus on diet quality scores (like HEI), others on dietary diversity, others on adherence to national guidelines or cultural patterns like the Mediterranean diet. These varied definitions mean that two studies can report on ‘diet quality’ but be talking about quite different things.

The Mediterranean Diet Index and its adaptations, such as the relative Mediterranean Diet Score or alternate Mediterranean Diet Score, are widely used in Europe. These scores capture core elements of Mediterranean dietary patterns: a lot of vegetables, pulses, fruits, nuts, olive oil and fish; moderate alcohol drinking; and low amount of red meat and dairy. In countries like Spain, Italy and Greece, these tools have helped characterise regional diets and assess traditional dietary patterns in relation to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and overall death rate.

European examples such as the EPIC cohort (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) show how differing dietary patterns and assessment methods between countries can complicate analyses. EPIC responded by conducting extra studies to adjust for differences in how diets were measured across countries.

The cost of precision

Gold-standard methods like weighed food diaries or duplicate meals offer unmatched detail, but they’re expensive, burdensome, and often impractical for large groups. Even with trained coders and food composition databases, analysis is slow and complex. Participants may forget to record, misestimate, or change how they eat.

And food diaries only capture a few days raising the question: are those days typical? People might eat differently on weekends, holidays, or when they’re sick. So we need multiple days, and sometimes biomarkers or repeat measures, to estimate what is usual. That’s time and resource intensive. And even then, we must account for people who report eating less than they actually do.

In the UK, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey switched from 7-day weighed diaries to 4-day estimated ones, to computerised 24 hour recall methods. These changes reflect the challenge of balancing accuracy, rigour, realism and resource constraints.

From challenge to opportunity: smarter tools, better insight

The good news? We’re getting better. Digital tools like Intake24, MyFood24 and ASA24 allow self-administered, online 24 hour recalls with built-in prompts, portion images, and food databases. These tools reduce burden and standardise data collection. AI is also being explored for recognising foods from images, helping reduce reliance on memory and self-reporting.

Dietary pattern analysis is also on the rise. Rather than fixating on individual nutrients, researchers are looking at how foods cluster together using tools like principal component analysis. These approaches acknowledge that we eat meals, not molecules and that whole-diet patterns may offer a more stable and interpretable link to people’s health.

What now?

Dietary data collection isn’t perfect and may never be. But it’s getting better. By balancing scientific rigour with practical constraints, and by using emerging technologies and analytic strategies, researchers can produce meaningful insights. Whether it’s via smarter recalls, better biomarkers, or dietary pattern-based analysis, the goal is the same: to understand how what we eat affects our health and how we live. That journey starts with listening carefully, thoughtfully, and with an appreciation for just how tricky it is to answer the simple question: “What did you eat yesterday?”

So the next time you try to recall what you ate yesterday, remember you're not alone - even science is still figuring it out!