Children's health: building the healthiest generation yet
Examining the implementation of healthy lifestyle programmes in children and young people.
Despite the benefits of being physically active and eating a healthy diet, most young people do not achieve the minimum recommended levels of physical activity or eat sufficient fruit and vegetables each day.
Our cutting-edge and innovative research focuses on developing and evaluating the implementation, effectiveness and scale-out of evidence-based healthy lifestyle programmes in young people.
Our team is internationally renowned and have contributed to developing national policies and recommendations.
Theme lead
Research spotlights
Current projects
Development, implementation and evaluation of interventions
Improving physical activity and dietary behaviours among children and young people across school, family, and community settings, including low- and middle-income countries.
Nutrition and dietary behaviours
Exploring dietary behaviours in children and young people with a focus on food systems, food environments, and ultra-processed food consumption, identifying opportunities to improve diet quality and public health outcomes.
Physical activity in children with clinical conditions
Understanding and improving physical activity and health outcomes among children with clinical conditions, particularly epilepsy, to support more inclusive and evidence-based care.
Clustering and patterns of health behaviours
Examining how physical activity, sedentary behaviour, diet, and sleep interact and cluster across childhood and adolescence to better understand multi-behaviour influences on health.
Active school environments
Designing and evaluating school-based approaches to increase physical activity, including active school uniforms and classroom strategies, alongside whole-school systems-based approaches to creating supportive environments for children’s health and wellbeing.
Translational public health research
Working with policy-makers, practitioners, and communities to translate research into practice, informing public health policy and real-world interventions that improve children’s health at scale.
Past projects
2025
- Idowu J, Meades C, Cross JH, Muggeridge A, Lakhanpaul M, Robinson K, Sherar L, Pearson, N, Reilly C. Quality of life in young adolescents with epilepsy: A case control study, European Journal of Paediatric Neurology. 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2025.05.005
- Blyth F, Haycraft E, Peral‐Suarez A, Pearson N Tracking and changes in the clustering of physical activity, sedentary behavior, diet, and sleep across childhood and adolescence: A systematic review, Obesity Reviews. 2025. DOI: 10.1111/obr.13909.
- Johnson W, Norris T, Pearson N, Petherick E, King J, Willis S, Hardy R, Paudel S, Haycraft E, Baker JL, Hamer M, Stensel D, Tilling K, Richardson T. Are associations of adulthood overweight and obesity with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and obesity-related cancer modified by comparative body weight at age 10 years in the UK Biobank study?, International Journal of Obesity. 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41366-025-01718-4.
- Meades C, Idowu J, Cross JH, Chan S, Muggeridge A, Lakhanpaul M, Robinson K, Sherar L, Pearson N, Reilly C. Features of developmental coordination disorder and sleep difficulties in young adolescents with epilepsy: A case-controlled study, Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy. 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2025.05.015.
- Pearson N, Pradeilles R, Kingsnorth A, Peral-Suarez A, Boxer B, Griffiths P, Sherar L (2025) The effectiveness of combined dietary and physical activity interventions for improving dietary behaviors, physical activity, and adiposity outcomes in adolescents globally: A systematic review and meta‐analysis, Obesity Reviews. 2025. 10.1111/obr.13940
- Pearson N, Pradeilles R, Kingsnorth A, Suarez A, Boxer B, Griffiths P and Sherar, L. The Effectiveness of Combined Dietary and Physical Activity Interventions for Improving Dietary Behaviors, Physical Activity, and Adiposity Outcomes in Adolescents Globally: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Obesity Reviews (2025). DOI: 10.1111/obr.13940
- Iris N, Munir F, Daley AJ. Physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) food labelling on discretionary foods in secondary school canteens in England: an efficacy cluster randomised controlled trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2025. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-025-01710-1
2024
- Alosaimi N, Sherar L, Griffiths P, Hamer M, Pearson N. Clusters of diet, physical activity, screen-time and sleep among adolescents and associations with 3-year change in indicators of adiposity, PLoS ONE. 2025. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316186
- Peral-Suarez A, Sherar L, Alosaimi, N, Kingsnorth A, Pearson N. Change in clusters of lifestyle behaviours from childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal analysis, European Journal of Pediatrics. 2025. DOI: 10.1007/s00431-024-05729-7
- Peral-Suarez A, Haycraft E, Blyth F, Holley C, Pearson N Dietary habits across the primary-secondary school transition: A systematic review, Appetite. 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107612
- Idowu J, Meades C, Cross JH, Muggeridge A, Lakhanpaul M, Robinson K, Sherar L, Pearson, N, Reilly, C. Mental health in secondary school-aged children with epilepsy and their primary caregivers: A case control study, Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy. 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2024.07.002
- Idowu J, Meades C, Cross JH, Muggeridge A, Lakhanpaul M, Robinson K, Sherar L, Pearson N, Reilly C. “One size does not fit all” – Barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in adolescents with epilepsy, Epilepsy and Behavior. 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2024.109772
- Routen A, Cale L, Chalkley A, Clemes S, Edwardson C, Glazebrook C, Harrington D, Khunti K, Pearson N, Salmon J, Sherar L. A non-randomized pilot implementation trial of The CLASS PAL (Physically Active Learning) Project, Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. 2025. DOI: 10.1249/TJX.0000000000000261.
- Idowu J, Pearson N, Meades C, Cross JH, Muggeridge A, Lakhanpaul M, Robinson K, Sherar L, Reilly C. Accelerometer and survey assessed physical activity in children with epilepsy: A case-controlled study, Pediatric Exercise Science. 2025. DOI: 10.1123/pes.2023-0065.
2023
- Alosaimi N, Sherar L, Griffiths P, Pearson N. Clustering of diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour and related physical and mental health outcomes: a systematic review, BMC Public Health. 2023. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-16372-6.
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Large JF, Madigan CD, Pradeilles R, Markey O, Boxer B and Rousham EK. Impact of unhealthy food and beverage consumption on children’s risk of dental caries: a systematic review. Nutrition Reviews, 2023. DOI: doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuad147
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McLeod CJ, Haycraft E, Daley AJ. Offering vegetables to children at breakfast time in nursery and kindergarten settings: the Veggie Brek feasibility and acceptability cluster randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2023. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-023-01443-z
2022
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McLeod CJ, Haycraft E, Daley AJ. Would offering vegetables to children for breakfast increase their total daily vegetable intake? Public Health Nutr. 2022. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980022002002
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Pearson N, Griffiths P, van Sluijs E, Atkin AJ, Khunti K, Sherar LB. Associations between socio-economic position and young people’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour in the United Kingdom: A scoping review. BMJ Open. 2022. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051736
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Kontostoli E, Jones AP, Pearson N, Foley L, Biddle SJH, and Atkin AJ. The Association of Contemporary Screen Behaviours with Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep in Adolescents: a Cross sectional Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 2022. DOI: 10.1007/s12529-022-10077-7
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Ikeda E, Guagliano JM, Atkin AJ, Sherar LB, Ekelund U, Hansen B, Northstone K, van Sluijs E. International Children’s Accelerometry Database (ICAD) Collaborators. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of active travel, organised sport and physical education with accelerometer-assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in young people: the International Children's Accelerometry Database. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2022. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-022-01282-4
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Gammon C, Atkin AJ, Corder K, Ekelund U, Hansen BH, Sherar LB, Andersen LB, Anderssen S, Davey R, Hallal PC, Jago R, Kriemler S, Kristensen PL, Kwon S, Northstone K, Pate R, Salmon JO, Sardinha LB, VAN Sluijs EMF. International Children’s Accelerometry Database (ICAD) Collaborators. Influence of Guideline Operationalization on Youth Activity Prevalence in the International Children's Accelerometry Database. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2022. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002884
2021
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Kontostoli E, Jones AP, Pearson N, Foley L, Biddle SJH, Atkin AJ. Age-related change in sedentary behavior during childhood and adolescence: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews. 2021. DOI: 10.1111/obr.13263
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Chen Y-L, Tolfrey K, Pearson N, Bingham D, Edwardson C, Cale L, Dunston D, Barber SE, Clemes SA. Stand Out in Class: Investigating the Potential Impact of a Sit-Stand Desk Intervention on Children's Sitting and Physical Activity during Class Time and after School. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18094759
Children's diet
Physically active school lessons
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The Conversation: Active lessons can boost children’s learning and health
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Tech Radar: Should children wear fitness trackers?
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Sport Parks and Leisure: School teachers trained to incorporate physical activity in normal lessons
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Human Kenetics: Can exercise improve children’s learning?
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HCM: School teachers trained to incorporate physical activity in normal lessons
- International Children’s Accelerometry Database (ICAD). Led by Lauren Sherar (in collaboration with Cambridge University and Norwegian School of Sport Sciences).
- Understanding the barriers to physical activity for children and young people with epilepsy. Funded by the Waterloo Foundation. Led by Lauren Sherar (the PI institution UCL).
- Understanding the barriers and facilitators to using accelerometry to collect physical activity data on children and young people in low to middle income countries. Funded by Research England. Led by Lauren Sherar.