Dr James Sanders

James has been a mainstay at Loughborough University, having completed his BSc (Human Biology), MSc (Physical activity and public health) and PhD (Digital Health) at Loughborough. Following on from his PhD, James undertook an Enterprise Associate position with Dr Dale Esliger, working primarily with external commercial companies on various research projects relating to the quantification of human behaviour. Between September 2019 and November 2020, James has been working as a Senior Research Associate on the NIHR funded Snacktivity project before moving to conduct research as part of the Centre for Lifestyle Medicine and Behaviour in Digital Health.

James’s expertise and research interests lie in the use of Digital Health or mHealth technologies in lifestyle interventions.

James’s research focus is on two main areas. The first is testing the accuracy and reliability of mHealth technologies to measure a variety of metrics. The second research area focuses on the design and implementation of digital health behaviour change interventions in inactive adult populations. These interventions may include the use of novel mHealth technologies or methodologies to help participants to become more active more often.

James has also worked extensively with commercial organisations in the past and has a strong interest in bridging the gap between academia and industry.

• Gokal, K., Amos-Hirst, R., Moakes, C.A., Sanders, J.P., Esliger, D.W., Sherar, L.B., Ives, N., Biddle, S.J.H., Edwardson, C., Yates, T. and Frew, E., 2022. Views of the public about Snacktivity™: a small changes approach to promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour. BMC public health, 22(1), pp.1-12.
• Sanders, J.P., Biddle, S.J., Gokal, K., Sherar, L.B., Skrybant, M., Parretti, H.M., Ives, N., Yates, T., Mutrie, N., Daley, A.J. and Snacktivity Study Team, 2021. ‘Snacktivity™’to increase physical activity: Time to try something different?. Preventive Medicine, 153, p.106851.
• Tyldesley-Marshall, N., Greenfield, S.M., Parretti, H.M., Gokal, K., Greaves, C., Jolly, K., Maddison, R. and Daley, A.J., 2021. Snacktivity™ to promote physical activity: a qualitative study. International journal of behavioral medicine, pp.1-12.
• Kingsnorth, A.P., Whelan, M.E., Sanders, J.P., Sherar, L.B. and Esliger, D.W., 2018. Using digital health technologies to understand the association between movement behaviors and interstitial glucose: exploratory analysis. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 6(5), p.e114.
• Bakrania, K., Yates, T., Rowlands, A.V., Esliger, D.W., Bunnewell, S., Sanders, J.P, Davies, M., Khunti, K. and Edwardson, C.L., 2016. Intensity thresholds on raw acceleration data: Euclidean norm minus one (ENMO) and mean amplitude deviation (MAD) approaches. PloS one, 11(10), p.e0164045.
• Loveday, A., Sherar, L.B., Sanders, J.P., Sanderson, P.W. and Esliger, D.W., 2016. Novel technology to help understand the context of physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Physiological Measurement, 37(10), p.1834.
• Sanders, J.P., Loveday, A., Pearson, N., Edwardson, C., Yates, T., Biddle, S.J. and Esliger, D.W., 2016. Devices for self-monitoring sedentary time or physical activity: a scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(5), p.e90.
• Edwardson, C.L., Rowlands, A.V., Bunnewell, S., Sanders, J.P., Esliger, D.W., Gorely, T., O'Connell, S., Davies, M.J., Khunti, K. and Yates, T.E., 2016. Accuracy of posture allocation algorithms for thigh-and waist-worn accelerometers.
• Loveday, A., Sherar, L.B., Sanders, J.P., Sanderson, P.W. and Esliger, D.W., 2015. Technologies that assess the location of physical activity and sedentary behavior: a systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(8), p.e192