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Dr Claire Griffiths

Reader

Claire's Leeds Beckett journey started over 20 years ago as an undergraduate student, and she is delighted to be taking on the role as Co-Director of the Obesity Institute, to drive forward the ambitious mission; to improve the lives of people living with obesity.

Claire’s interests are driven by the question; How do we implement and evaluate a systems approach to address population obesity, in real world settings; creating systemic, transformational, long-term systems change, that is feasible and affordable.

More specifically she wants to understand how we shift from the theoretical application of a complex systems approach to real world implementation, application, and evaluation. We can only achieve this by strengthening interdisciplinary research, breaking discipline silos and identifying creative ways to broaden inclusion and strengthen engagement and partnerships with all stakeholders, including people with lived experience of obesity, communities, practitioners, and policymakers.

Our transdisciplinary framework for action demonstrates the value of blending multiple methods form the systems toolkit (rather than driving the action with a single tool as the lens) and it is the synergy of the different methods to truly capture the complexity that makes our framework innovative and ambitious. The framework complements and extends existing international best practise by extending methodologies in the design, implementation, and evaluation of obesity actions. Perhaps most importantly, this is the first framework to be coproduced by a transdisciplinary team with a holistic understanding of the wide range of obesity determinants, and the skills and approaches necessary to address them. It represents the much-needed shift to practice-based evidence to guide population health action and policy development. Where the real, complicated world is not controlled, but instead it is documented and measured, just as it occurs. It is this process of measurement and addressing what matters, not controlling how practice is delivered that is important.

Claire’s ambition is to provide stakeholders with the foundation to implement a systems approach to obesity, providing practice-based evidence to address real-world challenges of obesity and drive positive system change.

Current Teaching

Claire contributes to a range of modules across the Carnegie School of Sport including obesity management, active lifestyles and multidisciplinary modules that are delivered across the Faculty.

Claire also teaches research methods at both undergraduate and masters level of study. In addition she supervises a number of undergraduate and postgraduate research projects.

Research Interests

Measurement and classification of childhood obesity: Claire is particularly interested in this area and perhaps more importantly the health consequences associated with increased body weight during childhood.

Obesity and the environment: Claire is particularly interested in investigating how the environment, including access to food outlets and opportunities for physical activity and lifestyle behaviours influence obesity. Claire's research also considers the relationship between area level deprivation and lifestyle behaviours/obesity.

Both areas of work have particular importance to public health - central to improving the prevention and treatment of obesity is to identify those most at risk and identify the actual role (over the assumed role) of the environment in which people live.

Currently projects including:

Investigating the prevalence of obesity from a longitudinal perspective, comparing different classifications/measures of obesity
Investigating the relationship between different measures of obesity for predicting the development of obesity related diseases
Investigating the relationship between food access/density of food outlets and obesity prevalence
Investigating the relationship between green space/access to physical activity and obesity prevalence
Understanding behaviours (e.g. fast food consumption/physical activity) in relation to the environment and obesity
Examining obesity levels in children and the relationship with socioeconomic group
Examining physical activity levels and diet quality in children and the relationship with socioeconomic group

0113 81 26566
C.Griffiths@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Cavendish Hall, 202, Headingley Campus

Carnegie School of Sport

Ask Me About

Exercise and physical activity
Obesity

Selected Outputs

Nobles JD; Griffiths C; Pringle A; Gately P (In press) Why Consistent Completion Criterion are Required in Childhood Weight Management Programmes. Public Health Journal

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.025
Wilkins EL; Radley D; Morris M; Hobbs M; Christensen A; Lameck Marwa W; Morrin A; Griffiths C (2019) A systematic review employing the GeoFERN framework to examine methods, reporting quality and associations between the Retail Food Environment and obesity. Health and Place, 57 pp. 186-199.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.02.007
Hobbs M; Griffiths C; Green MA; Christensen A; McKenna J (2019) Examining longitudinal associations between the recreational physical activity environment, change in body mass index, and obesity by age in 8864 Yorkshire Health Study participants. Social Science and Medicine, 227 pp. 76-83.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.06.027
Hobbs M; Griffiths C; Green MA; Jordan H; Saunders J; Christensen A; McKenna J (2019) Fast-food outlet availability and obesity: Considering variation by age and methodological diversity in 22,889 Yorkshire Health Study participants. Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology, 28 pp. 43-53.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sste.2018.11.001
Vogel C; Zwolinsky S; Griffiths C; Hobbs M; Henderson E; Wilkins EL (2019) A Delphi study to build consensus on the definition and use of big data in obesity research. International Journal of Obesity

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-018-0313-9
Morris MA; Wilkins E; Timmins KA; Bryant M; Birkin M; Griffiths C (2018) Can big data solve a big problem? Reporting the obesity data landscape in line with the Foresight obesity system map. International Journal of Obesity, 42 pp. 1963-1976.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-018-0184-0
Lichtenauer M; Wheatley SD; Martyn-St James M; Duncan MJ; Cobayashi F; Berg G; Musso C; Graffigna M; Soutelo J; Bovet P (2018) Efficacy of anthropometric measures for identifying cardiovascular disease risk in adolescents: review and meta-analysis. Minerva Pediatrica, 70 (4), pp. 371-382.

https://doi.org/10.23736/S0026-4946.18.05175-7
Green M; Radley D; Lomax N; Morris M; Griffiths C (2018) Is adolescent body mass index and waist circumference associated with the food environments surrounding schools and homes? A longitudinal analysis. BMC Public Health

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5383-z
Hobbs M; Griffiths C; Green M; Jordan H; Saunders J; McKenna J (2018) Associations between the combined physical activity environment, socioeconomic status, and 1 obesity: a cross-sectional study. Perspectives in Public Health, 138 (3), pp. 169-172.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913917748353
Wilkins EL; Radley D; Morris M; Griffiths C (2017) Examining the validity and utility of two secondary sources of food environment data against street audits in England. Nutrition Journal

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-017-0302-1
Hobbs M; Griffiths C; Saunders J; McKenna J (2017) Neighbourhood typologies and associations with body mass index and obesity: a cross-sectional study. Preventive Medicine, 111 pp. 351-357.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.11.024
Hobbs M; Green MA; Griffiths C; Jordan H; Saunders J; Grimmer H; McKenna J (2017) Access and quality of parks and associations with obesity: A cross-sectional study. SSM Popul Health, 3 pp. 722-729.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2017.07.007
Backhouse SH; Griffiths C; McKenna J (2017) Tackling doping in sport : a call to take action on the dopogenic environment. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52 pp. 1485-1486.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-097169
Hobbs M; Green M; Griffiths C; Jordan H; McKenna J (2017) How different data sources and definitions of neighbourhood influence the association between food outlet availability and body mass index: a cross-sectional study. Perspect Public Health, 137 (3), pp. 158-161.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913916650916
Wilkins EL; Morris MA; Radley D; Griffiths C (2017) Using Geographic Information Systems to measure retail food environments: discussion of methodological considerations and a proposed reporting checklist (Geo-FERN). Health and Place, 44 pp. 110-117.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.01.008
Nobles J; Griffiths C; Pringle A; Gately P (2016) Design programmes to maximise participant engagement: a predictive study of programme and participant characteristics associated with engagement in paediatric weight management. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 13

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-016-0399-1
Zwolinsky S; McKenna J; Pringle A; Widdop P; Griffiths C (2015) Physical activity assessment for public health: efficacious use of the single-item measure. Public health, 129 (12), pp. 1630-1636.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2015.07.015
Simmonds M; Burch J; Llewellyn A; Griffiths C; Yang H; Owen C; Duffy S; Woolacott N (2015) The use of measures of obesity in childhood for predicting obesity and the development of obesity-related diseases in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Health technology assessment (Winchester, England), 19 (43), pp. 1-336.

https://doi.org/10.3310/hta19430
Griffiths C; Frearson A; Taylor A; Radley D; Cooke CB (2014) A cross sectional study investigating the association between exposure to food outlets and childhood obesity in Leeds, UK. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11 pp. 138-?.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-014-0138-4
Griffiths C; Gately P; Marchant PR; Cooke CB (2014) Response to 'Area-level deprivation and adiposity in children: is the relationship linear?'. International journal of obesity (2005), 38 (1), pp. 161-162.

https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2013.66
Griffiths C; Gately P; Marchant PR; Cooke CB (2013) A five year longitudinal study investigating the prevalence of childhood obesity: comparison of BMI and waist circumference. Public health, 127 (12), pp. 1090-1096.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2013.09.020
Griffiths C; Gately P; Marchant PR; Cooke CB (2013) Area-level deprivation and adiposity in children: is the relationship linear?. International journal of obesity (2005), 37 (4), pp. 486-492.

https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2013.2
Griffiths C; Marchant P; Gately P; Cooke CB (2012) Cross Sectional Comparisons of Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference in British Children: Mixed Public Health Messages. Obesity, 20 pp. 1258-1260.

https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2011.294

Griffiths C; Ells L; Gilthorpe MS; Clare K; Coggins A (In press) A complex systems approach to obesity: A transdisciplinary framework for action. In: UK Congress on Obesity, 7 September 2022 - 8 September 2022, Lancaster.

https://aso.org.uk/ukco/2022/programme