Dr Pauline Emmett
BSc(Lond), PhD(Bristol), SRD
Research Fellow
Oakfield House
Oakfield Grove
Clifton
Bristol
BS8 2BN
UK
Fax Number: (0117) 331 3303
Telephone Number: (0117)3310195
Email:
p.m.emmett@bristol.ac.uk
List of publications (links to IRIS publications database)
Current research and interests
Pauline is particularly interested is in the way in which early eating habits (breastfeeding, introduction of solids, type of snack foods) may influence later dietary patterns and how these might relate to the development of obesity and other disease outcomes in later life. She undertakes invited lectures on themes such as infant feeding, childhood diet, childhood obesity and the role of dietary long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in child development. Some of the key findings of her research are:
- Diet in pregnancy, in particular fish eating, shown to affect visual development in preschool children.
- Weaning diet shown to affect both the child’s relationship with food later in childhood and biological outcomes such as iron status. In formula fed infants increasing energy intake at 4 months associated with obesity at age 5 years.
- Dietary differences, particularly in types of foods eaten, shown to go hand in hand with social inequalities both in pregnancy and infancy.
- Changes in dietary patterns in childhood highlighted for the first time as the dietary assessments collected prospectively have been used in longitudinal analysis.
- Increasing levels of obesity in children found and risk factors for obesity development investigated, these include fast early growth.
- In utero growth associations with cardiovascular disease outcomes investigated jointly with other European countries.
- Diet has been related to growth and blood levels of the hormone insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I); protein intake particularly from milk was associated with high levels of IGF-I and increased height.
- Dietary diary data collected at 7 years used to assess the energy density of the diet: a difference in food energy density between children identified as obese using BMI and non-obese children shown; such that the obese children have on average a more energy dense diet.