Summary
I am currently head of the Section for Nutrition Research and lead the Imperial Nutrition and Food Network. I qualified as a dietitian in 1982 and have always maintained a clinical input throughout my career. Was appointed to Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at Imperial College Jan 2008. Prior to this, for 18 years Gary had work at Hammersmith Hospital. Over his time at Hammersmith he gained his PhD in Nutrition and was appointed Honorary Reader in Nutrition at Imperial College, then joined the University of Surrey as Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2005. My research interests are very diverse and some are listed below:
Dietary Carbohydrates: These are a major focus of my work has been on the role of dietary carbohydrates on appetite regulation, insulin resistances and lipid metabolism in particular the glycaemic index as a model of the physiological effects of carbohydrates. We were the first to demonstrate the impact of low glycaemic diets on adipocyte metabolism. More recently in partnership with Professor Jimmy Bell we have used an integrative physiological approach to investigating the role of dietary carbohydrates on body composition and appetite regulation.
Short Chain Fatty Acids: These are produces of microbial fermentation of dietary carbohydrate in the gastrointestinal track. Our research program in partnership with the University of Glasgow has lead to the new understanding of the role for these molecules in appetite regulation.
Food Structure: Over the last five years in partnership with colleagues at the Quadram Institute, John Innes Centre and the University of Glasgow we have had a major interest in how food structure influences human metabolism
Obesity Management: My group is part of the section of Division Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism which is headed by Professor Bloom where we have been part of the team that demonstrated the importance of a number of gut peptides in appetite regulation peptides in appetite regulation. We also have an on going project investigating the role of nutrients in the secretion of appetite regulating peptides and a major interest in the basic nutritional physiology involved in energy balance.
Dietary intake: One of the major nutritional challenges is the actuate assessment of food intake in free living people. With Prof Holmes, Dr Garcia, Dr Posma and Prof Nicholson with had made a significant contribution by using metabolic profiling to improve dietary reporting. Also with Prof Yang and Dr Lo we are developing new camera technology to improve dietary reporting
Nutrition in the Elderly: My research group are interested in the relationship between food, the gastrointestinal tract and appetite regulation during aging. Over recent years we have demonstrated that anorexic hormones released from the gut higher than in young people.
Publications
Journals
Jia W, Li B, Xu Q, et al., 2024, Image-based volume estimation for food in a bowl, Journal of Food Engineering, Vol:372, ISSN:0260-8774
O'Donovan SD, Rundle M, Thomas EL, et al., 2024, Quantifying the effect of nutritional interventions on metabolic resilience using personalized computational models., Iscience, Vol:27
Gressier M, Frost G, Hill Z, et al., 2024, The effectiveness of mandatory vs. voluntary food reformulation policies: a rapid review, The British Journal of Nutrition: an International Journal of Nutritional Science, ISSN:0007-1145
Gressier M, Frost G, HIll Z, et al., 2024, Supply- and demand-side drivers of the change in the sugar density of food purchased between 2015 and 2018 in Great Britain, The British Journal of Nutrition: an International Journal of Nutritional Science, ISSN:0007-1145
Steinert RE, Mueller M, Serra M, et al., 2024, Effect of inulin on breath hydrogen, postprandial glycemia, gut hormone release, and appetite perception in RYGB patients: a prospective, randomized, cross-over pilot study., Nutr Diabetes, Vol:14