{"id":709,"date":"2017-03-15T15:59:46","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T15:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.reading.ac.uk\/the-forum\/?p=709"},"modified":"2021-11-03T14:14:54","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T14:14:54","slug":"body-of-evidence-exploring-readings-health-research-for-british-science-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/research-blog\/2017\/03\/15\/body-of-evidence-exploring-readings-health-research-for-british-science-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Body of evidence: exploring Reading\u2019s health research for British Science Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Tim Mayo, University of Reading press officer for health research<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout British Science Week<\/a> this week, University of Reading scientists from across the health research theme are presenting the \u2018body of evidence’.<\/p>\n

They are showcasing the areas where Reading research is tackling some of the global health challenges – from dementia and heart disease to nutrition and food hygiene.<\/p>\n

The health of people in Britain has never been better. Yet with shifting patterns of disease, an ageing population, and rapid social and environmental change, the diagnosis has perhaps never been more troubling.<\/p>\n

Reading has for decades been in the forefront of study into some of the most fundamental areas of human health. The University\u2019s key research areas of biomedical science, psychology, mental health, food and nutrition, pharmacy, and language development inform some of the key issues facing the health of the nation, now and in the future.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Health issues such as dementia, heart disease, obesity and mental health are increasingly not only UK problems, but global ones.<\/p>\n

Changing health research<\/h4>\n

The wider theme for British Science Week is ‘change’. Reading health researchers are answering the rapidly shifting problems for global health, taking new, interdisciplinary approaches to the way we face issues such as dementia and mental health, and challenging assumptions about what is considered ‘healthy’ in our diet and lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Connections are everything in the human body. Research also benefits from connection – from interconnected studies between nutrition and neuroscience leading to understanding about the ways foods can benefit cognition<\/a>\u00a0and mood<\/a>,\u00a0to how agricultural practices can make dairy products healthier<\/a>.<\/p>\n