Dr Melvyn Hillson in the lab

£0.5 Million Wellcome Trust Grant

Dr Melvyn Hillson has been awarded a £508,000 research grant from the Wellcome Trust to investigate how the neighbourhood that people live in influences their physical activity.

Physical activity is influenced by a range of personal, social and environmental factors, and the study will collect data on multiple factors that are associated with physical activity. In particular it will develop a range of measures that characterise the neighbourhood that people live in and which may encourage or discourage physical activity.

The study will collect data about the proximity of everyday destinations, the general upkeep of the area, how much green space there is, the number of leisure facilities and how ‘walkable’ the area is. In addition a sample of local people will be asked how they perceive their neighbourhood including how safe it is, how easy it is to get around on foot, how satisfied they are with local amenities, what links they have to the area (family, friends, clubs etc). Some people will be asked to wear a small device that accurately measures their physical activity and another small device that records the location of that activity. This will help researchers to understand how much physical activity takes place in the local area and whether certain types of areas are more active than others. The study will run for 24 months and if successful it is hoped it will lead to a national study.

Date: 9 February 2009

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