A research group based at the University of Oxford’s Cancer Epidemiology Unit has launched an exciting new study called ‘Feeding the Future’ (FEED) - and wants to hear from residents on the Isle of Wight.
The study aims to create an up-to date picture of what foods people following different diets in the UK are eating, with the aim of improving the understanding of how disease risks may be different for people following reduced meat or vegetarian diets.
To achieve this, the group is inviting all UK adults to complete a short, one-off online survey about what they eat, and why.
Why is this important?
The research group uses large-scale studies to investigate whether particular diets are associated with a higher or lower risk of disease. But because UK diets have changed so much over recent years, with many new food products now available, there is very limited information about what modern diets actually contain. This makes it very difficult for health researchers to understand why certain diets may be associated with different disease risks.
Why do they need our help?
This is where Feeding the Future comes in! The aim is to generate a current picture of what UK adults following different diets actually eat on a day-to-day basis. To make the results as representative as possible, they are looking for at least 5,000 UK residents to complete a short, online survey about what they eat and why. We hope the results will increase understanding of how disease risks may vary for different diets, and inform future research and dietary recommendations.
The survey is open to all UK adults over 18 years old, whether they are a committed carnivore, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian or flexitarian. Residents in the Isle of Wight are underrepresented in the responses so far, hence they are particularly keen to work with this area.
Link to the survey: https://oxford.onlinesurveys.