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About us

The Physical Activity, Nutrition and Metabolism Special Interest Group aims to investigate how manipulations in physical activity and nutrition can improve metabolic health across the lifespan. This research is of considerable relevance to today’s society due to the global health and economic impact of obesity-related metabolic disease in children and adults. To help address this problem, our research encompasses various populations, including children and adolescents, overweight individuals, and clinical populations. In addition, we cover a range of expertise, including physiology, nutrition, sport science, endocrinology, psychology and epidemiology. Ultimately, our research has implications for informing physical activity and dietary guidelines to improve metabolic health outcomes, with a particular emphasis on energy balance, appetite regulation, insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism.

Staff Members

• Dr Julia Fruer (SIG Lead)
• Dr Jeffrey Aldous
• Dr Angel Chater
• Dr Louise Ferrandino
• Dr Rebecca Jones (nee Stannard)
• Dr Lindsey Smith
• Professor Robert Thomas (visiting staff member)

PhD students

• Ashley Beckett: The physiological and psychological effects of shift patterns to health behaviour and status on UK Firefighters
• Abbie Bell: ‘Reducing sedentary behaviour for the prevention of heart disease’.
• Opie Charlett: ‘The effects of sedentary behaviour on cardiometabolic risk markers in older adults’.
• Sahar Afeef: 'Exercise and dietary manipulations to improve insulin sensitivity in adolescent girls and boys' (External - Loughborough ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½)
• Kamalesh Dey: ‘Effects of breaking up prolonged sedentary time on cardiometabolic risk markers in South Asians’

Current grants/funding

• British Nutrition Foundation Pump Priming Awards (2018). Jones R and Zakrzewski-Fruer JK, ‘Acute impact of breakfast consumption and omission on glycaemia and insulinaemia in adolescent girls’. £4796 awarded. 12 month grant.
• Nutrition Society Summer Studentships (2018). Zakrzewski-Fruer JK, ‘The effects of breakfast consumption and breakfast omission on free-living physical activity energy expenditure and energy intake in adolescent girls classified as habitual breakfast skippers’. £2500 awarded. 3 month grant.
• Connolly Foundation Grant.
• British Nutrition Foundation Drummond Pump Priming Award 2018; Acute impact of breakfast consumption and omission on glycaemia and insulinaemia in adolescent girls. (£5,000) Jones, R.L
• Connolly Foundation Grant.ÌýLeal D. andHough J.Ìý(2017). £4,000.ÌýThe immunological and inflammatory responses to overreaching.Ìý12 month grant.
• Society for Endocrinology Summer Studentships Projects.ÌýDr Julia Fruer. (2016). £2,850.ÌýInteraction between environmental temperature and appetite regulation. 3 month grant.

Recent papers

• Artioli, G.G., Sale, C., Jones, R.L. (2018). Carnosine in health and disease, European Journal of Sport Science, DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2018.1444096
• Cooper, S.B., Bandelow, S., Nute, M., Dring, K.J., Stannard, R.L., Morris, J., Nevill, M. (2016). Sprint-based exercise and cognitive function in adolescents. Prev Med Rep, 4, 155-161. DOI: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.06.004
• Bailey, D. P., Smith, L. R., Chrismas, B. C., Taylor, L., Stensel, D.ÌýÌýJ., Deighton, K., Douglas, J., & Kerr, C. J. (2015). Appetite and gut hormone responses to moderate-intensity continuous exercise versus high-intensity interval exercise, in normoxic and hypoxic conditions.ÌýAppetite, 89,Ìý237-245.
• Harvey, S., Smith, M. L, Song, Y., Robertson, D., Brown, R., &ÌýSmith, L. R. (2016). Gender and school-level differences in pupils’ moderate and vigorous physical activity levels when taught basketball through the Tactical Games Model.ÌýJournal of Teaching in Physical Education, 35(4), 349-357.
• Harvey, S.,ÌýSmith, L. R., Fairclough, S. J., Savory, L. A., & Kerr, C. J. (2015). An Investigation of Pupil’s Levels of MVPA and VPA During Physical Education Units Focused on Direct Instruction and Tactical Games Models.ÌýThe Physical Educator, 72,Ìý40-58.
• Kerr, C. J.,ÌýSmith, L. R.,ÌýCharman, S. J., Savory, L. A., Fairclough, S. J., & Govus, A. (in press). Physical education contributes to total physical activity levels and predominantly in higher intensity categories.ÌýEuropean Physical Education Review.
• Kolotourou, M., Radley, D., Gammon, C. S.,ÌýSmith, L. R., Chadwick, P., & Sacher, P. M. (2015). Long-term outcomes following the MEND 7-13 child weight management program.ÌýChildhood Obesity, 11(3), 1-6.
• Smith, L. R., Harvey, S., Savory, L., Fairclough, S. J., Kozub, S., & Kerr, C. J. (2015). Physical activity levels and motivational responses of boys and girls: a comparison of direct instruction and tactical games models of games teaching in physical education.ÌýEuropean Physical Education Review, 21(1), 93-113.
• Smith, L. R.,ÌýChadwick, P., Radley, D., Kolotourou, M., Gammon, C. S., Rosborough, J., & Sacher, P. M. (2013). Assessing the short-term outcomes of a community-based intervention for overweight and obese children: The MEND 5-7 programme.ÌýBMJ Open, 3(5), 1–8.
• Tolfrey, K.,ÌýZakrzewski-Fruer, J. K.Ìý& Smallcombe, J. (in press). Metabolism and exercise during youth.ÌýPediatric Exercise Science
  
• Zakrzewski-Fruer JK, Horsfall RN, Cottrill DC, Hough J. Acute exposure to a hot ambient temperature reduces energy intake but does not affect gut hormones in men during rest. Br J Nutr. 2020 22;1-25. doi: 10.1017/S0007114520002792.
• Hough J, Esh C, Mackie P, Stensel DJ, Zakrzewski-Fruer JK. Daily running exercise may induce incomplete energy intake compensation: a 7-day crossover trial. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2020;45(4):446-449.
• Zakrzewski-Fruer JK, Gillison FB, Katzmarzyk PT, Mire EF, Broyles ST, Champagne CM, Chaput JP, Denstel KD, Fogelholm M, Hu G, Lambert EV, Maher C, Maia J, Olds T, Onywera V, Sarmiento OL, Tremblay MS, Tudor-Locke C, Standage M; ISCOLE Research Group. Association between breakfast frequency and physical activity and sedentary time: a cross-sectional study in children from 12 countries. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):222.
• Tolfrey K, Zakrzewski-Fruer JK, Thackray AE. Metabolism and exercise during youth-The year that was 2017. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2018;30(1):38-41
• Zakrzewski-Fruer JK, Wells EK, Crawford NSG, Afeef SMO, Tolfrey K. Physical activity duration but not energy expenditure differs between daily compared with intermittent breakfast consumption in adolescent girls: a randomized crossover trial. J Nutr. 2018; 148(2):236–244.
• Zakrzewski-Fruer JK, Plekhanova T, Mandila D, Lekatis Y, Tolfrey K. Effect of breakfast omission and consumption on energy intake and physical activity in adolescent girls: a randomised controlled trial. Br J Nutr. 2017; 118(5):392-400.
• Gillison F, Standage M, Cumming S, Zakrzewski-Fruer J, Rouse P, Katzmarzyk PT. Does parental support moderate the effect of children’s motivation and self-efficacy on physical activity and sedentary behaviour? Psychol Sport Exerc. 2017;32:153-161.
• Tolfrey K, Zakrzewski-Fruer JK, Smallcombe J. Metabolism and exercise during youth. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2017;29(1):39-44.
• Zakrzewski, J. K., Gillison, F. B., Cumming, S., et al for the ISCOLE Research Group. (2015). Associations Between Breakfast Frequency and Adiposity Indicators in Children from 12 Countries.ÌýInternational Journal of Obesity, 5,Ìý³§80-³§88.

Books and Book Chapters

• Zakrzewski, J. K., Tolfrey, K. (2016). Carbohydrate needs of the young athlete. In: Kerksick, C. M. & Fox, E. (eds).ÌýSports Nutrition Needs for Child and Adolescent Athletes.: Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. pp 35-58.
• Bailey, D. P., Zakrzewski-Fruer, J. K., & Powell, F.C. (in press). Nutrition and Physical Activity. In Draper, N. & Stratton, G. (eds).ÌýPhysical Activity: A multi-disciplinary introduction.ÌýLondon: Routledge.

Recent conference presentations

• Stannard, R.L. (2016). Carnosine: From Exercise Performance to Health. ‘It is all happening inside!’ Health and well-being conference. Nottingham Trent ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½.
• Zakrzewski-Fruer, J. K. (2016, November).ÌýEffect of breakfast consumption compared with omission on free-living physical activity energy expenditure in girls.ÌýPaper presented at the British Association for Sport and Exercise Science Conference, Nottingham.
• Zakrzewski-Fruer, J. K. (2016, July).ÌýAssociations between breakfast frequency and objectively-measured physical activity and sedentary time in children from 12 countries.ÌýPaper presented at the 21st annual congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Vienna.
• Zakrzewski-Fruer, J. K. (2015, December).ÌýAn experimental examination of the effect of breakfast consumption compared with omission on free-living energy intake and physical activity in adolescent girls. Paper presented at the International Sport and Exercise Nutrition Conference, Northumbria.
• Zakrzewski-Fruer, J. K. (2018) (ECSS), Dublin, 2018: ‘Physical activity duration but not energy expenditure differs between daily compared with intermittent breakfast consumption in adolescent girls: a randomised crossover trial’. (Oral communication).
• Zakrzewski-Fruer, J. K. (2017) British Association for Sport and Exercise Science Conference, East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, 2017: ‘Associations between breakfast frequency and objectively-measured physical activity and sedentary time during different times of the day in children from 12 countries’. (Oral communication).