Food for Thought

Edible insects could be a key ingredient to avoiding a global food crisis, however there are significant barriers to overcome before they become mainstream. However, more and more insect-based food products are under development. I will invite you to understand how insects can be used as a food source to cover nutritional requirements, and investigate the increasing knowledge of how they can impact positively on the global warming crisis, food waste reduction, water/land saving, and finally how these can provide entrepreneurship opportunities in developed and developing economies.

Gymnastics as a sport, is characterised by a series of skills and movements requiring agility, speed, strength, flexibility, and balance which is reliant on maximal muscular contractions and explosive movements. The high demands on gymnasts’ bodies and the amount of energy required for successful performance, coupled with the emphasis on body size and the relative age of most gymnasts, presents a unique and interesting challenge from a nutritional perspective. In this talk we will explore the challenges placed upon gymnasts and potential influences on nutritional intake.

Diet has a huge influence on our health, and appetite is a major factor in determining what we eat... but what controls this? I will help us consider this question by talking about work being done within the Appetite Control and Energy Balance research group at the University of Leeds.