MRC Human Nutrition Research
Encyclopedia
MRC Human Nutrition Research is the largest research institute
in the UK for human nutrition, and is based in Cambridge
.
following the resignation of Professor Roger Whitehead. . The MRC (founded in 1913) had previously had a Human Nutrition Research Unit at the end of the Second World War, founded and directed by BS Platt, which was interested in serious nutritional deficiencies in children, that would cause significantly premature death and therefore HNR was formed in order to continue to progress the Medical Research Councils portfolio of strategic and applied nutrition research.
-Cambridge boundary, round the corner from the Fulbourn - Cherry Hinton Tesco and Fulbourn Hospital
. ARM Holdings
have their headquarters on the same site, and the Technology Park is also home to Acambis, who make vaccines, and are sited as neighbours to HNR.
It is divided into 3 main research departments and a support department
which house research groups looking at:
It also has a library which houses an important collection of research documents from a number of formative years in nutrition research.
and kale
. In the early 1950s, no children would have eaten pasta, but 50% of children in the 1990s did. However children in the 1950s were faced with more incurable illnesses, prevented today by vaccination.
In September 2002, it proved a link between diabetes
and being overweight. They found that people who had lost 9lb in weight had reduced the chances of having diabetes by 58%.
It participated in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey and the MRC's National Survey of Health and Development, which showed insights such as approximately five per cent of the UK's population are vegetarian.
Research institute
A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research...
in the UK for human nutrition, and is based in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
.
History
In 1998 MRC Human Nutrition Research (HNR) was formed out of the restructuring of the Dunn Human Nutrition UnitDunn Human Nutrition Unit
The MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit is an institution of the Medical Research Council based at the Addenbrooke’s Hospital site in Cambridge, England...
following the resignation of Professor Roger Whitehead. . The MRC (founded in 1913) had previously had a Human Nutrition Research Unit at the end of the Second World War, founded and directed by BS Platt, which was interested in serious nutritional deficiencies in children, that would cause significantly premature death and therefore HNR was formed in order to continue to progress the Medical Research Councils portfolio of strategic and applied nutrition research.
Mission
The mission of HNR is to conduct nutrition research and surveillance to improve the health of the population with a focus on obesity and metabolic risk, musculoskeletal health, intestinal health and nutritional inequalities.Objectives
HNR currently states that its 4 objectives are to:- Advance knowledge through discovery science, the development of innovative methodologies and the application of specialist expertise in priority areas
- Improve health and economic advantage through the exchange of knowledge and technology to inform nutrition policy and practice
- Provide opportunities for training and to build capacity for nutrition research
- Foster a dialogue with the public on nutrition science and its implications for health
Structure
It is based at Peterhouse Technology Park, in south-east Cambridge, on the South CambridgeshireSouth Cambridgeshire
South Cambridgeshire is a mostly rural local government district of Cambridgeshire, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District. It surrounds the city of Cambridge, which is administered separately from the district by...
-Cambridge boundary, round the corner from the Fulbourn - Cherry Hinton Tesco and Fulbourn Hospital
Fulbourn Hospital
Fulbourn Hospital, known as the County Pauper Lunatic Asylum for Cambridgeshire, the Isle of Ely and the Borough of Cambridge at the time of its opening in 1858, is a mental health facility located between the Cambridgeshire villages of Fulbourn and Cherry Hinton, about south-east of the centre of...
. ARM Holdings
ARM Holdings
ARM Holdings plc is a British multinational semiconductor and software company headquartered in Cambridge. Its largest business is in processors, although it also designs, licenses and sells software development tools under the RealView and KEIL brands, systems and platforms, system-on-a-chip...
have their headquarters on the same site, and the Technology Park is also home to Acambis, who make vaccines, and are sited as neighbours to HNR.
It is divided into 3 main research departments and a support department
- Cellular and Molecular Sciences
- Nutritional Physiology & Biomarkers
- Diet and Population Health
- Scientific Operations & Logistics
which house research groups looking at:
- National Nutrition Surveys
- Nutrition & Bone Health
- Nutritional Interventions
- Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders
- Nutrition Communications and Translation into Policy & Practice
- Nutrition Epidemiology
- Biomineral Research
- Lipid Profiling and Signalling
- Physiological Modelling of Metabolic Risk
- Dietary Assessment
It also has a library which houses an important collection of research documents from a number of formative years in nutrition research.
Function
HNR conducts nutrition research and surveillance to improve the health of the population with a focus on obesity and metabolic risk, musculoskeletal health, intestinal health and nutritional inequalities.Research
In November 1999 it discovered that children in the early 1950s, despite food rationing, had healthier diets than children today. They had a greater intake of calcium, from drinking more milk, and of iron, as they ate more red meat than poultry and iron containing dark green vegetables such as broccoliBroccoli
Broccoli is a plant in the cabbage family, whose large flower head is used as a vegetable.-General:The word broccoli, from the Italian plural of , refers to "the flowering top of a cabbage"....
and kale
Kale
Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane , a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties. Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming,...
. In the early 1950s, no children would have eaten pasta, but 50% of children in the 1990s did. However children in the 1950s were faced with more incurable illnesses, prevented today by vaccination.
In September 2002, it proved a link between diabetes
Diabetes mellitus type 2
Diabetes mellitus type 2formerly non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or adult-onset diabetesis a metabolic disorder that is characterized by high blood glucose in the context of insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. Diabetes is often initially managed by increasing exercise and...
and being overweight. They found that people who had lost 9lb in weight had reduced the chances of having diabetes by 58%.
It participated in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey and the MRC's National Survey of Health and Development, which showed insights such as approximately five per cent of the UK's population are vegetarian.