Brief interventions and making every contact count

Testing health behaviour interventions delivered within routine NHS healthcare consultations and public health settings.

Millions of deaths annually can be attributed to insufficient physical activity and obesity. There are day-to-day interactions with the public where we can intervene to change health behaviours. Our research is pioneering novel health behaviour interventions for physical activity and weight management in primary care, community health and public health settings.

One project we are working on is developing a novel physical activity approach called Snacktivity^TMwhich involves NHS health professionals routinely encouraging patients within consultations, to accumulate small ‘snacks’ of physical activity throughout the whole day.

Theme leads

Dr Claire Madigan

Senior Research Associate, Weight management interventions

Professor Amanda Daley

Professor of Behavioural Medicine, Centre Director

Research spotlights

Small changes

Physical activity in primary care

Active Advent

2023

Daley AJ, Griffin RA, Moakes CA, Sanders JP, Skrybant M, Ives N, Maylor B, Greenfield SM, Gokal K, Parretti HM, Biddle SJH, Greaves C, Maddison R, Mutrie N, Esliger DW, Sherar LB, Edwardson CL, Yates T, Frew E, Tearne S, Jolly K. Snacktivity™ to promote physical activity and reduce future risk of disease in the population: protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial and nested qualitative study. Pilot Feasibility Stud, 2023. DOI: 10.1186/s40814-023-01272-8
Krouwel M, Greenfield SM, Chalkley A, Sanders JP, Parretti HM, Gokal K, et al. Promoting participation in physical activity through Snacktivity: A qualitative mixed methods study. PLoS ONE, 2023. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291040
Daley AJ, Griffin RA, Moakes CA, Sanders JP, Skrybant M, Ives N, Maylor B, Greenfield SM, Gokal K, Parretti HM, Biddle SJH, Greaves C, Maddison R, Mutrie N, Esliger DW, Sherar L, Edwardson CL, Yates T, Frew E, Tearne S, Jolly K. Snacktivity™ to promote physical activity and reduce future risk of disease in the population: protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial and nested qualitative study, Pilot and Feasibility Studies 2023. DOI: 10.1186/s40814-023-01272-8
Biddle GJH, Thomas N, Edwardson CL, Clemes SA, Daley AJ. Burnout, psychological wellbeing and musculoskeletal complaints in general practitioners. BJGP Open, 2023. DOI: 10.3399/BJGPO.2023.0007

2022

Biddle GJH, Sanders JP, Gokal K, Madigan CD, Thomas JJC, Pyle A et al. A Christmas themed physical activity intervention to increase participation in physical activity during Advent: pilot randomised controlled trial BMJ 2022; 379 :e072807 doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-072807
Kettle V, Madigan CD, Coombe A, Graham H, Thomas JJC, Chalkley AE, Daley AJ. Effectiveness of physical activity interventions delivered or prompted by health professionals in primary care settings: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. The BMJ. 2022. DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2021-068465
Daley A, Time to get our teeth into reducing obesity: should dentists screen and deliver interventions to reduce obesity in the population? British Dental Journal. 2022. DOI: 10.1038/s41415-022-3872-z

2021

Noreik M, Madigan CD, Astbury NM, Edwards R, Galal U, Mollison J, Ghebretinsea F, Jebb SA. Testing the short-term effectiveness of primary care referral to online weight loss programmes: a randomsied controlled trial. Clinical Obesity. 2021. DOI: 10.1111/cob.12482
Tyldesley-Marshall N, Greenfield SM, Parretti HM, Jolly K, Jebb S, Daley AJ. The experiences of postnatal women and healthcare professionals of a brief weight management intervention embedded within the national child immunisation programme. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2021; 21(1):462. DOI: 10.1186/s12884-021-03905-3
Graham HE, Madigan CD, Daley AJ. Is a small change approach for weight management effective? A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials. Obesity Reviews. 2021; e13357 DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13357

2020

Daley AJ, Jolly K, Bensoussane H, Ives N, Jebb SA, Tearne S, Greenfield SM, Yardley L, Little P, Tyldesley-Marshall N, Pritchett RV, Frew E, Parretti HM. Feasibility and acceptability of a brief routine weight management intervention for postnatal women embedded within the national child immunisation programme in primary care: randomised controlled cluster feasibility trial. Trials 2020, 21:757. DOI: 10.1186/s13063-020-04673-9
Tudor K, Tearne S, Jebb SA, Lewis A, Adab P, Begh R, Jolly K, Daley AJ et al. Gender differences in response to an opportunistic brief intervention for obesity in primary care: Data from the BWeL trial Clinical Obesity, 2020, e12418. DOI: 10.1111/cob.12418

Weight loss interventions in primary care

Dentristy: How can dentists help to tackle obesity?
News Medical: New study to explore the role of dentists in reducing obesity in the UK
NIHR: Screening and brief intervention for obesity in primary care (BWeL): A parallel, two arm randomised control trial
Cancer Research UK: How GPs can encourage weight loss in just 30 seconds

Strategies to lose weight

The Times: The 12 easiest ways to lose weight
The Conversation: Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain
Independent: Three ways behavioural psychology can help you lose weight
The Conversation: Three ways behavioural psychology might help you lose weight
Radio Sputnik: Behavioural Psychology Could Help Positively Improve Attitudes Towards Food, Expert Says

The role of dentists in screening for obesity and delivering weight management interventions. Led by Jess Large.
The effectiveness of the small change approach for weight management. Led by Henrietta Graham.
Evaluation of a weight management interventions for postnatal women embedded within child immunisation appointments in primary care (PiMMS). Funded by NIHR. Led by Amanda Daley.