Health Action Research Group

Looks like exercise is good for our brains, not just our bodies. MRI scans showed adults who exercised regularly had younger brains than their sedentary counterparts. sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/…

January finally saw a ban on advertising junk food to children on TV before 9pm – but, as usual with health policy this is too little, too late e.g. with brand advertising on TV still allowed and no ban on outdoor advertising. health.org.uk/features-and-o…

Good to see the government has published its long-awaited update to the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM – providing an up to date assessment of how healthy foods are. obesityhealthalliance.org.uk/2026/01/27/gov…

Good to see the House of Lords voted to ban social media for under 16’s - bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… Ideally this wouldn’t be needed but there seem few other realistic options to protect young people from social media companies who put profits before young people’s mental health.

People who come off slimming jabs regain weight four times faster than dieters. That’s the finding from research published in the BMJ - bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… The quick fix may not always be the best.

There’s growing pressure to protect children’s mental health by banning smartphones for under 16s - pressure from parents, teachers and across the political spectrum. Is Keir Starmer starting to listen? theguardian.com/politics/2026/…

Vulnerable people turning to AI chatbots instead of professional therapists for mental health support could be “sliding into a dangerous abyss”, psychotherapists have warned. theguardian.com/society/2025/a…

Families in areas of higher poverty – like the North of England – less likely to have access to healthy, affordable food and more likely to have children who live with obesity. healthequitynorth.co.uk/app/uploads/CO… to tackle health inequalities!

Food Insecurity Linked to Rapid, Reversible Mental Health Deterioration new research has shown. However, mental health improved rapidly when food security was restored. journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/a…

Two new Canadian studies suggest the plant-based Portfolio Diet, which features cholesterol-lowering food choices, can reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality across diverse groups. bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

Looks like people’s health in the US is at increased risk – as all 17 permanent members of the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices were dismissed and partially replaced with known vaccine critics and underqualified individuals. medscape.com/viewarticle/va…

In 2019 vaccine scepticism was identified as one of the top 10 global health threats by the WHO – and it’s getting worse. So, what are the modifiable risk factors? bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

Living in the most polluted areas increases your risk of heart failure by up to 27%, according to research for the British Heart Foundation - Time to take pollution from vehicles and industry more seriously.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/new…

The worst diet quality, the highest levels of food insecurity and the highest levels of adult obesity – that’s the sad reality for the north of England, according to this report - thenhsa.co.uk/what-we-do-nhs… to take health inequalities seriously.

What have we been working on over the last year? Find out more in our Annual Review - healthactionresearch.org.uk/assets/documen…

Keep moving! As we get older sedentary time is associated with smaller brain volume, greater neurodegeneration and worse cognitive performance. alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/al…

Exposure to air pollution may alter our brain structure in ways that are bad for our health. ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/ST… Time to take tackling pollution seriously!

Are we overprotecting children? History suggests that reducing children's opportunities for play negatively affect their mental health in adolescence. thelancet.com/journals/lanch…

Can Vitamin D protect our telomeres? That’s what research suggests – and this may reduce the risk of ageing-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and premature mortality. ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-…

Consuming higher amounts of diet drinks and/or saccharin was associated with an elevated risk of developing diabetes, according to a US study medscape.com/viewarticle/di…