Health
HASP focuses on a broad spectrum of human health outcomes and how they relate to the places in which people live and work. This includes access to good quality food, green space, and other socio demographic indicators. We are also focused on human behaviors and how smart data can inform how these result in different health outcomes.
The Challenge
Lifestyle and food are at the heart of some of the world’s greatest challenges, with one in five deaths globally attributed to poor diet, a third of global greenhouse gas emissions arising from food production and food insecurity doubling since 2020.
Globally, one in three adults, and eight in ten adolescents, do not meet physical activity guidelines, significantly impacting their health.
Big changes are needed to improve personal, population and planetary health. Challenges to achieving healthy lifestyles, do not impact communities equally, meaning that place is both part of the problem and the solution when considering how to tackle these challenges.
HASP’s approach
HASP will forge relationships with smart data owners to acquire data for use in wide ranging healthy and sustainable places research. Building upon previous experience we will grow existing data partner relationships and forge new ones. These new smart data sources will enable us to better understand the extent of food and lifestyle challenges in the UK and simulate and evaluate what works best to change less healthy or less sustainable behaviours.
Through collaboration with the NHS Secure Data Environments, it will be possible to bring together data on health with food and lifestyle smart data, supported by information on place within our trusted research environments.
Priority Places for Food Index
The Priority Places for Food Index identifies neighbourhoods across the UK that are vulnerable to increases in the cost of living and are most likely to need support to access affordable, healthy, and sustainable sources of food.
Developed in 2022, as a collaboration between the Consumer Data Research Centre and consumer group Which?, the interactive tool makes it easy for policy makers to identify neighbourhoods most in need of support and understand the factors driving the need in that area.
Projects
Understanding the relationship between food behaviours and health outcomes
Food production and consumption are at the heart of the worlds greatest challenges, with 1 in 5 deaths globally attributed to poor diet and a third of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from food production.
This PhD project, in partnership with Nesta, will use smart data from food providers, combined with health outcomes within the NHS secure data environment, to unlock insights into behaviour and health outcomes for places across the UK most in need of support and interventions to improve access to healthy, sustainable and nutritious food.
Priority places for increasing physical activity
Globally, a third of all adults do not meet physical activity recommendations. At the same time, we need to reduce emissions from motorised transport, which is a key contributor to the climate crisis.
Shifting behaviour towards increased physical activity, including active travel, presents an opportunity for intervention and innovation that would reduce emissions, and promote health.
This PhD project explores developing a composite measure to highlight places across the UK most in need of support to access physical activity spaces, from a combined health and wellbeing and environmental sustainability perspective.
Nutrient Profile Model Calculator
In October 2022 new legislation was introduced in England that restricts the placement of some food and drink products High in Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS).
The legislation prohibits products such as confectionery being placed at store entrances, ends of aisles, or at the checkout in large retail stores and their online equivalents.
The Nutrient Profile Model Calculator is a free tool that calculates the NPM score and helps users identify whether a product is in scope for restrictions, supporting compliance and enforcement.
