Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Dr James Nobles
Senior Research Fellow
James is a pragmatic, mixed methods researcher with specialist expertise in the prevention and treatment of obesity. His core interests lie within the design, implementation and evaluation of systems approaches to help address non-communicable diseases.
Throughout the last 10 years, James has developed an extensive research portfolio within the fields of non-communicable disease prevention and treatment. He works closely with local and national policy makers to ensure that research being undertaken, and the associated findings, are able to translate meaningfully back into the decision making processes.
James' early work focused on understanding how, and why, families engage (or not) with weight management services in the UK. He then went on to work closely with SHINE Health Academy; a community-based specialist weight management provider for young people living with severe obesity. This collaboration continues strongly today.
Given that the health and wellbeing is largely borne out of the conditions and environments that we live in, James' current research is predominantly interested in the prevention of non-communicable diseases (such as obesity) through the use of systems approaches. He has led on large scale evaluations of such approaches, developed innovative methods and techniques to gain new insight around these approaches, and co-lead on the development of a large specialist international evaluation network.
James has developed a growing reputation in these fields of work and welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with others in these areas.
Research Interests
Current research projects include:
- A multi-method evaluation of a systems approach to physical activity across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
- A novel evidence synthesis of public health interventions to prevent childhood obesity. This work is being led by the University of Bristol
- The natural experimental evaluation of an unhealthy commodity advertising policy within Bristol. This work is in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- An exploration into whether co-designing weight management services improves their equitability of access and engagement. This project is led by the NIHR ARC West at the University of Bristol
- Examining how weight management services can be adapted for people with depression and other common mental health disorders. This project is in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the University of Birmingham
