The University of Sheffield
Public Health

Dr Michelle Holdsworth PhD, RD, RPHNutr

michelleholdsworth

The University of Sheffield
Section of Public Health
ScHARR
Regent Court
30 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 4DA
UK

Tel: +44(0)114 222 0723
Fax: +44(0)114 272 4095

Office:  Room 2037

email: michelle.holdsworth@sheffield.ac.uk

Biography

I joined ScHARR in October 2011 and I am currently a Senior Lecturer in Public Health and Course Director of the Masters in Public Health (MPH) by distance learning.  I studied human nutrition as an undergraduate, then completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Dietetics.  After working in various NHS hospital and community dietetics posts, I developed research interests in incorporating the use of evidence to local community projects and went on to study for a PhD in Public Health at the University of Leicester.  Since then I have pursued a career in academic public health nutrition, working for 4 years at the University of Nottingham, as Lecturer then Associate Professor and for 8 years in Montpellier, France as a Senior Researcher - conducting research and capacity building work in public health nutrition, mainly in Africa, for the nutrition team of the Government funded Institute of Research for Development (IRD).

Research Interests

The common thread in my research is combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to answer interdisciplinary research questions in public health nutrition.  The research approach integrates social science with that of public health nutrition, to investigate determinants of health behaviour at an individual level, within the context of social and ecological determinants of health, followed by studies of policy processes that directly feed into informing preventive strategies.

I have significant research experience which has involved working in different cultural contexts (especially the UK, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and more recently in Asia), falling broadly within three areas of public health nutrition:  Nutrition transition in low and middle-income countries, obesity policy development and integrating sustainability into nutrition policy.

Teaching Interests

I am Course Director for the new Master of Public Health (MPH) by distance learning that begins in September 2012. This exciting initiative will build on the huge success of our existing MPH in ScHARR.  I teach on 'Introduction to Research Methods' module on the Master of Public Health programme and plan to extend teaching of public health nutrition within the suite of MPH courses at the University. 

I am strongly committed to teaching and enhancing the quality of the student experience at the University, particularly using modern technologies to enhance the learning experience for blended and distance learning.

Professional Activities

I am a Registered Public Health Nutritionist and a Registered Dietitian and Member of UK Faculty of Public Health and the British Sociological Association's Food study group.  I am also a member of the UK Nutrition Society (International Nutrition and Public Health themes).  I am a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.

Current Research Projects

  1. SUNRAY (Sustainable Nutrition Research for Africa in years to come)
    Funded by the  EC (Framework 7) to investigate sustainable solutions to improve nutritional status in Africa - tacking obesity and under-nutrition.  My main contribution is to use Multi-Criteria Mapping to explore stakeholders' viewpoints of a new nutrition research strategy for Africa. (2011-2013).
  2. ALIMI (Food culture and migration in France, Mali and Morocco), financed by the French National Research Council.  Coordinated by the Food Sociology team of the School of Higher Studies in Social Science (EHESS-CNRS) Paris.  I lead on the aspects assessing changing body size norms (2009-2011).
  3. OBE-MAGHREB (Understanding nutrition transition in the Maghreb to prevent obesity and chronic disease) funded by the French Ministry of Overseas Affairs and DG International Development and Cooperation).  Conducted in Morocco and Tunisia.  I lead on i) Assessing stakeholder views of policy options to prevent obesity using a Multi-Criteria mapping approach and ii) Psycho-socio determinants of health behaviour (eating/physical activity/body weight)(2007-2011)

Recently Finished Projects

  1. PolMark (Assessing Policy options for Marketing food and beverages to children) Funded by the EC, Executive Agency for Health and Consumers.  The project explored stakeholder views of current policies on marketing controls in relation to children's foods and beverages in  Europe (11 countries participated).  I was the coordinator in France (2008-2010).
  2. PorGrow (Policy Options for Responding to the Growing challenge from Obesity: a cross-national comparative study), funded by EC-6th Framework Programme.  9 European partners, coordinated by Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex.  I was the coordinator in France (2004-07).
  3. TAHINA (Epidemiological Transition in two North African countries), funded by EC-5th Framework Programme (2002-2004).

PhD Supervision

I am interested in supervising Research Students in topics related to the following themes:

  1. Investigating the determinants of health at an individual level, e.g. health behaviour, particularly diet and healthy body weight.  Competency for individuals to implement healthy behaviour is also of interest, including looking at ways of communicating nutrition and healthier 'lifestyles' more effectively to the public.
  2. Exploring Societal and ecological determinants of health (social, cultural, economic) particularly those that influence dietary and physical activity behaviour, but this could be broader to incorporate other behaviours that impact on health.  Sustainability is incorporated here as a driver of health, but it is also integral to the policy making process.
  3. Linking research, policy and practice.  Including how we can increase the use of evidence of the individual and societal determinants of health into the development of policy and public health practice.  The evaluation of policy processes (local, national, global) are inevitably part of this, in particular in relation to obesity and diet related chronic disease prevention.  

Key Publications 

Clonan A, Holdsworth M, Swift J, Leibovici D, Wilson P.
The dilemma of healthy eating and environmental sustainability: public understanding and consumption of fish.
(2011) Public Health Nutrition.  Published online: 24 May 2011

Holdsworth M.
Sustainability should be integral to nutrition and dietetics.
(2010) Editorial. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 23, 467468.

Holdsworth M, Delpeuch F, Kameli Y, Lobstein T, Millstone E.
The acceptability to stakeholders of mandatory nutritional labelling in France and the UK.
(2010) Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 23,11-19

Gonzalez-Zapata Ll, Alvarez-Dardet C, Millstone E, Clemente V, Holdsworth M, et al.
The potential role of taxes and subsidies on food in the prevention of obesity in Europe.
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.  64:696-704.

Brown E, Drury S, Holdsworth M.
Motivations of consumers that use local, organic fruit and vegetable box schemes in Central England and Southern France.
(2009) Appetite 53 183-188

Gonzalez-Zapata Ll, Alvarez-Dardet C, Ortiz-Moncada R, Clemente V, Millstone E, Holdsworth M et al.
Policy options for obesity in Europe - A comparison of public health specialists with other stakeholders.
(2009) Public Health Nutrition. 12(7) 896-908

Tlili F, Mahjoub A, Lefevre P, Bellaj T, Ben Romdhane H, Eymard-Duvernay S, Holdsworth M.
Tunisian women's perceptions of desirable body size and chronic disease risk.
Ecology of Food and Nutrition. 47, 1-16.

Pettinger C, Holdsworth M, Gerber M.
'All under one roof?' differences in food availability and shopping patterns in Southern France and Central England.
(2008) European Journal of Public Health.  18:109-114.

Holdsworth M, Kemeli Y, Delpeuch F.
Stakeholder views on policy options for responding to the growing challenge from obesity in France: findings from the PorGrow project.
(2007) Obesity Reviews.  Special issue: 'Policy Options for Tackling Obesity'. 8 (2), 53-61.

Holdsworth M, Delpeuch F, Landais E, Gartner A, Eymard-Duvernay S, Maire B.
Knowledge of dietary and behaviour-related determinants of non-communicable disease in urban Senegalese women.
(2006) Public Health Nutrition. 9 (8) 975-978.

Pettinger C, Holdsworth M, Gerber M.
Meal patterns and cooking practices in Southern France and Central England.
(2006) Public Health Nutrition.9(8) 1020-1026

Holdsworth M, Gartner A, Landais E, Maire B,  Delpeuch F.
Perceptions of healthy and desireable size in urban Senegalese women.
(2004) International Journal of Obesity. 28, 1561-1568.

Books

Webster-Gandy J, Madden A, Holdsworth M.
(2011) Oxford Handbook of Nutrition and Dietetics
Oxford University Press.  Oxford Handbook Series 2nd edition.  Due for publication in autumn 2011.

Delpeuch F, Maire B, Monnier E, Holdsworth M.
(2009) Globesity - a planet out of control.
Earthscan Books