Economic And Social Research Council Research Articles

Participative rights in Welsh primary schools: Unpicking the policy rhetoric

This paper presents the findings from the initial stage of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project which examines the pedagogic practices that embed young children’s participative rights in lower primary classrooms in Wales. An evaluation of relevant legislation and policy in Wales from 2000 to 2022 was undertaken to explicate the positioning of teachers and their responsibilities regarding children’s participative rights. Data analysis detailed here sets out the legislative and statutory context within which teachers work, as well as the curricular and pedagogic framework which steers classroom activity. The Welsh Government has, for two decades, been explicitly sympathetic to embedding children’s rights in policy development, yet there is limited research evidencing the changes in educational curricula and practice. The gap between policy intention and implementation is not unique to Wales and therefore of universal interest. We report that although there is evidence of the increased inclusion of children’s participative rights in more recent legislation and policy, the move to education about, through and for human rights is only significantly pronounced in recent reforms such as the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021. We advocate that the commitment to human rights education made in the Curriculum for Wales is perpetuated and ongoing critical appraisal of legislation and policy is needed, alongside further research to understand how that commitment is being interpreted in Welsh education settings.

Towards a climate-health approach in Indian healthcare: Perspectives of specialist doctors on health impacts of extreme heat in Hyderabad

IntroductionClimate change impacts human health by exacerbating existing vulnerabilities to communicable and non-communicable diseases and creating new ones. Consequently, there has been increasing recognition of the need for a dedicated focus on ‘climate health’ in medical education and the healthcare profession globally. In this study, we explored the perspectives of doctors on the impact of heat on human health in Hyderabad, India and how a climate health approach can be adopted across Indian healthcare. MethodsA global literature review on climate health broadly, and heat health specifically was carried out. Based on our analysis of the literature, we developed an interview questionnaire and conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 specialist physicians in order to understand their perspectives on the impacts of heat on human health in the region of Hyderabad and institutional transformations necessary to better address questions of heat health. Interview findings were interpreted against extant research on climate health. ResultsClimate health and heat-health challenges are aggravating globally, and the doctors perceive that the Hyderabad region is no exception. While efforts are underway to operationalize a climate health approach in healthcare systems in countries of the Global North, such an orientation is almost absent from the context of Indian medical education and healthcare. ConclusionImpacts of climate change and heat on human health are becoming more apparent in the Hyderabad region. This suggests a strong need to incorporate greater attention to climate health and heat health as part of medical education and the healthcare system in India. FundingThis research has been conducted as part of the “Cool Infrastructures: Life with Heat in the Offgrid City” project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK (Award No: ES/T008091/1).

Including the Caribbean. A commentary on David Chandler and Jonathan Pugh's ‘Abyssal geography’.

Including the Caribbean. A commentary on David Chandler and Jonathan Pugh's ‘Abyssal geography’.

Relationships between mothers and children in families formed by shared biological motherhood.

Does shared biological motherhood, in which a woman gives birth to the genetic child of her female partner, result in more positive mother-child relationships than donor insemination, in which only one mother is biologically related to the child? Mothers in both family types showed high levels of bonding with their children and viewed their relationship with their child positively. There is some evidence of feelings of inequality regarding their relationship with their child between biological and non-biological mothers in lesbian mother families formed by donor insemination, with a qualitative longitudinal study showing a tendency for children to form stronger bonds with their biological than their non-biological mother. Thirty lesbian mother families created through shared biological motherhood were compared with 30 lesbian mother families formed by donor-IVF. All families had two mothers who both participated in the study, and the children were aged from infancy up to 8 years old. Data collection took place over 20 months beginning in December 2019. Each mother in the family was interviewed separately using the Parent Development Interview (PDI), a reliable and valid measure of the nature of the parent's emotional bond with their child. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded separately by one of two trained researchers who were unaware of the child's family type. The interview produces 13 variables that relate to the parent's representations of themselves as a parent, 5 variables that relate to the parent's representations of the child, and a global variable that assesses the extent to which the parent can reflect on the child and their relationship. Families formed through shared biological parenthood did not differ from families created by donor-IVF in terms of the quality of mothers' relationships with their children as assessed by the PDI. Neither were differences identified between birth mothers and non-birth mothers across the entire sample, or between gestational and genetic mothers within the families formed by shared biological parenthood. Multivariate analyses were conducted to minimize the role of chance. Ideally, larger samples of families and a narrower age range of children would have been studied, but this was not possible as we were reliant on the small number of families formed through shared biological motherhood in the UK when the study began. To maintain the anonymity of the families, it was not possible to request information from the clinic that may have shed light on differences between those who responded to the request to participate and those who did not. The findings show that shared biological motherhood is a positive option for lesbian couples who wish to have a more equal biological relationship to their children. One type of biological connection does not appear to have a greater influence on the quality of parent-child relationships than the other. This study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) grant ES/S001611/1. KA is Director, and NM is Medical Director, of the London Women's Clinic. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. N/A.

Professional authority and sexual coercion: A paradigmatic case study of doctor abuse

Professionals occupy a position of esteem in society. Doctors and health professionals tend to score especially highly on public opinion surveys of trust. Sexual violence and abuse (SVA) by medical professionals towards their patients is a grave breach of that confidence. This paper uses thematic analysis of a paradigmatic case study of doctor abuse, drawn from a larger sample of semi-structured interviews conducted for an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded United Kingdom (UK) study 2015–2018 into justice and gender based violence. It explores how professional authority can both facilitate and conceal sexual coercion through building dependency; use of language and authorship of the official record; and by functional complicity and ‘data doubling’ within intra and inter-professional cultures. While there is an established literature on child sexual abuse, including in institutional contexts, this paper focuses on the lived experience of grooming and sexual violence of an adult survivor of doctor abuse.

'Never waste a crisis': a commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic as a driver for innovation in maternity care.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in rapid changes in many areas of health care worldwide.1 Some organisational and governance controls on innovation have been relaxed, to enable rapid adaptation to changing circumstances. The speed of innovation raises a range of ethical, governance and organisational issues. It is important to assess what changes have been instituted, which ones should be maintained, and how to encourage effective innovations in future.

The mental health trajectories of male prisoners and their female (ex-)partners from pre- to post-release.

There are high rates of mental disorders among prisoners. Prisoners are also likely to have difficulties with intimate relationships, perhaps related to the imprisonment, but their mental health may be relevant. There is a dearth of research on intimate relationship qualities and mental health of offenders and their partners over time. To explore mental health and relationship trajectories among men in prison, and their partners, before the men's release, through a time 6 months post-release, and then again 8 years later, and to test associations between relationship quality and mental health. Data stem from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded longitudinal 'Families and Imprisonment Research' (FAIR) project on paternal imprisonment and family resilience. Inclusion criteria for the study were men serving a short- to medium-term prison sentence who were within 4 months of release; with a current or ex-partner with whom they have at least one child; and for whom there were data on mental health and relationship factors during imprisonment, and at 6 months and 8 years post-release. Similar data were also obtained for their (ex-)partners. The main sample comprised 39 men and 39 women who were in the same 'family set' for the first two waves, and after 8 years, 26 men and 30 women were retained. Just over 40% of the men and their (ex-)partners each disclosed that they had a mental health problem preceding his release. Proportions fluctuated slightly over time, with some dissonance between self-perceived disorder and self-ratings on a symptoms rating scale. Twenty-nine couples sustained their relationship during the transition between prison and release, but after 8 years, only four remained together. There was little evidence of association between measures of mental health and relationship quality among either the men or their partners. The findings challenge assumptions about the extent to which partners can play fully supportive roles in a former prisoner's transition from institutional life back into the community, as partners are also likely to be experiencing difficulties during this time. Thus, former prisoners and their families should be afforded equal access to support and assistance during offender rehabilitation.

‘What is immediate and obvious feels real’: National identity and emotional vulnerabilities in the field

This article provides a critical reflection on methodological issues at the interface of researcher national identity and emotional vulnerability. This aspect of social research is often neglected in discussions of positionality, primarily in relation to emotional risk in the field, and here we address this gap in the literature. Rather than reflecting on access and rapport, or issues related to the complexities of insider or outsider research, the national identity of the researcher is considered alongside emotional entanglements experienced in the field. The emotion work that is performed, and the emotional risks that are experienced by the researcher as a consequence of nationality reveal much about the complexities of identity and power relations in the field. The fieldwork informing this article was undertaken as part of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded study (ES/N019423/1) that examined how seafarers from different ethnic and faith backgrounds interact with each other on board and how their religious/spiritual and welfare needs are addressed ashore.

Fabricating future bodies: making digital sexualities research matter

PurposeThis paper critically examines the development and direction of the Fabricating Future Bodies (FFB) Workshop. Troubling notions of co-production as enacting equality or empowering participants, it draws on feminist posthuman and new materialist concepts to understand it as an eventful process that occurs in unpredictable and shifting affect-laden assemblages.Design/methodology/approachThe FFB Workshop formed part of the final phase of my Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded doctoral study, titled “Exploring young people's digital sexual cultures through creative, visual and arts-based methods”. With additional support from Wales' Doctoral Training Partnership, the workshop provided sixteen young people (aged 11–13 years) from one fieldwork school with the opportunity to work with two professional artists in order to creatively re-animate research findings on the digitally networked body. In a three-hour workshop, participants produced cut-up texts and life-size body fabrics that re-imagined what bodies might do, be and become in the future.FindingsThis paper finds that co-productive practices cannot flatten out the institutional and societal power dynamics operating within schools, highlighting how adult intervention was necessary to hold space for young people to participate. It also observes the agency of the art materials employed in the workshop in enabling young people to articulate what mattered to them about the digitally networked body. While the workshop was limited in its ability to renegotiate institutional and peer power dynamics, it produced rich data that indicated how carefully choreographed arts-based practices offer generative possibilities for digital sexualities research and education.Originality/valueBy employing speculative fiction, cut-up poetry and textiles to explore the digitally networked body, this paper outlines an innovative methodological-pedagogical approach to engaging with young people's digitally networked lives.

Associations of Percent Energy Intake From Total, Animal and Plant Protein With Overweight/Obesity and Underweight Among Adults in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ObjectivesObesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases are increasing in Ethiopia—often in the same communities where undernutrition remains prevalent. Increasing proportion of energy intake from protein could be a potential strategy to address this double burden; however, this potential has not been examined in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study is to investigate associations of types and food sources of protein with overweight/obesity and underweight in Ethiopia. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional dietary survey including 992 women and 632 men aged 18–49 years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Linear regression models were used to assess associations between body mass index (BMI) and % energy intake from total, animal, and plant protein. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations of % energy intake from total, animal, and plant protein and specific food sources of protein with underweight and overweight/obesity. ResultsNearly one third of the sample were overweight or obese. Only 2.5% of total energy intake was derived from animal protein. In multivariable-adjusted linear models in the full sample, BMI was not associated with % energy from total protein, plant protein or animal protein. Total protein and animal protein intake were both associated with lower odds of overweight/obesity (Odds Ratio [OR] per 1% energy increment of total protein 0.92; 95% CI: 0.86, 0.99; P = 0.02; OR per 1% energy increment of animal protein 0.89; 95% CI: 0.82, 0.96; P = 0.004) when substituted for carbohydrate and adjusted for sociodemographic covariates. In food-based analyses, a greater % energy from milk was related to lower odds of underweight but with wide confidence intervals (OR per 5% energy increment 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30, 1.00; P = 0.05). ConclusionsIncreasing the proportion of energy intake from total protein or animal protein in place of carbohydrate could be a strategy to address overweight and obesity in Ethiopia; longitudinal studies are needed to further examine this potential. Funding SourcesUnited Kingdom Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Department for International Development (DFID) Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research.

Alcohol Consumption and Physical Inactivity Mediate the Link Between Sleep Disturbance and Psychological Wellbeing in Older Adults: A 10-Year Follow-Up From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Importance: The level of optimal sleep often decreases with age, yet the mechanisms explaining the links with psychological wellbeing and other outcomes remain poorly understood. Very few studies (none in the United Kingdom) explored these associations in large, well-characterised groups of community-dwelling individuals. Objective: To investigate the mediating role of various lifestyle behaviours in the relationship between sleep and subsequent psychological wellbeing. Design: A longitudinal analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing spanning over 10 years from wave 4 (2008-09) to wave 9 (2018-19), and mediating factors investigated at wave 5 (2010-11). Setting: English population-based sample. Participants: The sample was comprised of 4,110 men and women aged 50 years living in England. Exposures: Sleep duration, sleep disturbance (insomnia, difficulty falling asleep) and covariates were assessed at wave 4. Outcomes: Lifestyle behaviours (alcohol, smoking, physical inactivity, and low fruit & vegetable consumption) were assessed at wave 5. Depressive symptoms, quality of life, and life satisfaction were measured with well-established scales at wave 9. Results: During a 10-year follow up, compared with optimal baseline sleep (7-8 hours), short sleep (<6 hours) predicted subsequent elevated depressive symptoms (odds ratios (OR) = 1.44, 95 % CI = 1.09, 1.90), independent of all covariates. In addition, compared with no sleep disturbance, some sleep disturbance and disturbed sleep were predictive of elevated depressive symptoms (OR = 1.33, 95 % CI = 1.01, 1.76 and OR = 1.77, 95 % CI = 1.31, 2.39) and poor quality of life (OR = 1.36, 95 % CI = 1.13, 1.64 and OR = 1.67, 95 % CI = 1.35, 2.07), respectively. Alcohol consumption and physical inactivity showed partial mediating effects in the relationship between sleep disturbance and poor quality of life with 7.8% and 5.2%, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Too short sleep and sleep disturbance could adversely impact psychological wellbeing, while sleep disturbance could also impact the quality of life. Although some lifestyle behaviours such as alcohol consumption and physical inactivity partially mediate the relationship between some sleep disturbance and poor quality of life, they seem to play a very limited part in the causal process. Funding Information: This research was supported by the National Institute on Aging (grants R01AG7644-01A1 and R01AG017644). The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing is funded by the National Institute on Aging (Grant R01AG7644) and by a consortium of UK government departments coordinated by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Office for National Statistics. Declaration of Interests: None. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval for each one of the ELSA waves was granted from the National Research Ethics Service (London Multicentre Research Ethics Committee (MREC/01/2/91) (http://www.nres.npsa.nhs.uk). All participants provided informed consent at every wave.

The challenges and opportunities of mental health data sharing in the UK

The challenges and opportunities of mental health data sharing in the UK

Opening up research in social sciences

The Open Research Area (ORA) for Social Sciences is an international initiative that provides social science research funding and support. It was founded in 2010 by members of the Bonn Group and based on agreement by European social science funding bodies The Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), France, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK, and the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), the Netherlands. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada, later joined, as well as the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) as an associate member. ORA facilitates collaborative social sciences research by bringing together researchers from participating countries. Researchers from the partner countries who fulfil the eligibility criteria of their national funding organisation apply to the ORA office handling the year's applications and Japanese researchers submit their applications to JSPS Tokyo. ORA accepts applications from all areas of the social sciences and there is a key focus on supporting young researchers at the beginning of their careers, helping them to extend the reach of their work and network on an international scale. Ultimately, ORA exists to drive forward high-quality research and strengthen international collaboration in social sciences research. So far, five rounds of ORA have been successfully completed, with more than 60 international collaborative proposals funded across diverse social sciences fields, including political science, economics, empirical social science, psychology, geography, urban planning and education science.

Opening up research in social sciences

The Open Research Area (ORA) for Social Sciences is an international initiative that provides social science research funding and support. It was founded in 2010 by members of the Bonn Group and based on agreement by European social science funding bodies The Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), France, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK, and the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), the Netherlands. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada, later joined, as well as the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) as an associate member. ORA facilitates collaborative social sciences research by bringing together researchers from participating countries. Researchers from the partner countries who fulfil the eligibility criteria of their national funding organisation apply to the ORA office handling the year's applications and Japanese researchers submit their applications to JSPS Tokyo. ORA accepts applications from all areas of the social sciences and there is a key focus on supporting young researchers at the beginning of their careers, helping them to extend the reach of their work and network on an international scale. Ultimately, ORA exists to drive forward high-quality research and strengthen international collaboration in social sciences research. So far, five rounds of ORA have been successfully completed, with more than 60 international collaborative proposals funded across diverse social sciences fields, including political science, economics, empirical social science, psychology, geography, urban planning and education science.

Investigating Integrated Pathways for Infection Prevention and Antibiotic Stewardship in Surgery in India and South Africa: A Qualitative Study

Background: The surgical pathway remains a hard to reach, critical target for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and infection prevention and control (IPC) globally. We investigated the drivers for AMS and IPC across surgical teams, in two academic hospitals in South Africa (SA) and India. Methods: Between July 2018 and August 2019, we conducted an ethnographic study across cardiovascular and thoracic surgery (CVTS) and gastrointestinal surgery teams utilizing non-participant observations, face-to-face interviews, and in-depth case-studies. Data were analysed using an inductive-deductive approach, applying thematic framework informed by existing evidence. Observations totalling over 190 hours (138 India, 60 SA) included shadowing healthcare professionals (HCPs) attending daily ward activities and ward rounds. Patients (6 India, 7 South Africa), and HCPs (44 India, 61 SA) were interviewed. Six (4 India, 2 SA) patient case-studies were developed. Findings: Across surgical pathways, multiple steps in IPC and AMS include several key HCPs who have implicit roles. These existing roles of HCPs (including nurses, and senior surgeons) are overlooked as interventions target junior doctors, bypassing the critical roles of the wider range of HCPs. Critically, the ownership of decisions remains with the operating surgeons and entrenched hierarchies restrict the integration of other HCPs in IPC and AMS. Interpretation: IPC and AMS remain key priorities for safe surgery. Identifying the implicit existing roles in AMS and IPC is critical. Developing nurse leadership, empowering pharmacists and engaging surgical leads is essential for integrated care. Many lessons can be learnt from the integrated models of care in the ICU setting. Funding Statement: This study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of the Antimicrobial Cross Council initiative supported by the seven UK research councils, and the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethics approval for this study was granted by the University of Cape Town Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC ref. 499/2018) and the Amrita Hospital Institutional Research and Ethics Committee (IEC-AIMS-2018-INECONT-005A).

Design activism: catalysing communities of practice

Over the last decade, we have witnessed renewed interest in design as a socially engaged practice. Much of the debates around ‘social design’ point towards myriad approaches and disciplinary fields interwoven with grass-roots initiatives and social movements. Among these, design activism has gained traction as critical spatial practice that operates on the fringes of commercial and institutional spheres.The temporal, spatial and experimental nature of design activism is well delineated in scholarship but its long-term effect on everyday urban environments remains elusive. Moreover, the influence of design activism on socio-spatial dynamics is indeed largely under researched. By mobilising social practice theory, this paper proposes a novel theorisation of design activism that sheds light on the social formations and collective practices catalysed through the activist impulse. This ontological shift embraces an understanding of the socio-material world through practice. Such characterisation of design activism underscores collective moments of integration of the constitutive elements of practice, encapsulated by Shove, Pantzar and Watson as ‘material, competence and meaning’.The authors' own empirical research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in the UK, reveals design activism as necessarily intertwined with other everyday practices – gardening, celebrating, playing – that coalesce around a shared sense of citizenship. It also advances the role of design activism in forging communities of practice: mutually supportive and self-sustaining groups emerging out of the personal relations sustained and organised around a practice of place making.

FloraGuard: Tackling the Online Illegal Trade in Endangered Plants Through a Cross-Disciplinary ICT-Enabled Methodology

This article presents a part of the ongoing Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded project “FloraGuard: Tackling the illegal trade in endangered plants” that relies on cross-disciplinary approaches to analyze online marketplaces for the illegal trade in endangered plants, and explores strategies to develop digital resources to assist law enforcement in countering and disrupting this criminal market. This contribution focuses on how the project brought together computer science, criminology, conservation science, and law enforcement expertise to create a tool for the automatic gathering of relevant online information to be used for research, intelligence, and investigative purposes. The article also discusses the ethical standards applied and proposes the concept of “artificial intelligence (AI) review” to provide a sociotechnical solution that builds trustworthiness in the AI approaches used for this type of cross-disciplinary information and communications technology (ICT)-enabled methodology.

Are peer reviews of grant proposals reliable? An analysis of Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding applications

ABSTRACT Peer review is widely used throughout academia, most notably in the publication of journal articles and the allocation of research grants. Yet peer review has been subject to much criticism, including being slow, unreliable, subjective and potentially prone to bias. This paper contributes to this literature by investigating the consistency of peer reviews and the impact they have upon a high-stakes outcome (whether a research grant is funded). Analysing data from 4,000 social science grant proposals and 15,000 reviews, this paper illustrates how the peer review scores assigned by different reviewers have only low levels of consistency (a correlation between reviewer scores of only 0.2). Reviews provided by “nominated reviewers” (i.e. reviewers selected by the grant applicant) appear to be overly generous and do not correlate with the evaluations provided by independent reviewers. Yet a positive review from a nominated reviewer is strongly linked to whether a grant is awarded. Finally, a single negative peer review is shown to reduce the chances of a proposal being funding from around 55% to around 25% (even when it has otherwise been rated highly).

Addressing the Implementation Crisis: Securing Reparation and Righting Wrongs

AbstractThere has been increasing attention to the implementation of decisions of human rights bodies by scholars and by supranational institutions, states, litigants, and civil society. A project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) tracked the implementation by nine states of decisions adopted by human rights courts and commissions in the European, African and Inter-American systems and by select UN treaty bodies. This article summarizes the methodology and findings of the Project and in so doing forms an introduction to a series of articles and practice notes published in this special issue. A range of factors are identified from the research which influence implementation and stress the importance of a multifaceted, multidimensional approach to the issues. Implementation is not automatic and requires mechanisms, processes, and the involvement of actors (national and supranational) for states to comply with the reparations ordered in the decision. A case-by-case, state-by-state, context-specific approach is needed, tailored to the circumstances. This has implications for the manner in which litigants present their submissions, engage with state and supranational bodies and for the latter in terms of their roles and relationships with the various actors.

Evidence from big data in obesity research: international case studies.

Obesity is thought to be the product of over 100 different factors, interacting as a complex system over multiple levels. Understanding the drivers of obesity requires considerable data, which are challenging, costly and time-consuming to collect through traditional means. Use of 'big data' presents a potential solution to this challenge. Big data is defined by Delphi consensus as: always digital, has a large sample size, and a large volume or variety or velocity of variables that require additional computing power (Vogel et al. Int J Obes. 2019). 'Additional computing power' introduces the concept of big data analytics. The aim of this paper is to showcase international research case studies presented during a seminar series held by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Strategic Network for Obesity in the UK. These are intended to provide an in-depth view of how big data can be used in obesity research, and the specific benefits, limitations and challenges encountered. Three case studies are presented. The first investigated the influence of the built environment on physical activity. It used spatial data on green spaces and exercise facilities alongside individual-level data on physical activity and swipe card entry to leisure centres, collected as part of a local authority exercise class initiative. The second used a variety of linked electronic health datasets to investigate associations between obesity surgery and the risk of developing cancer. The third used data on tax parcel values alongside data from the Seattle Obesity Study to investigate sociodemographic determinants of obesity in Seattle. The case studies demonstrated how big data could be used to augment traditional data to capture a broader range of variables in the obesity system. They also showed that big data can present improvements over traditional data in relation to size, coverage, temporality, and objectivity of measures. However, the case studies also encountered challenges or limitations; particularly in relation to hidden/unforeseen biases and lack of contextual information. Overall, despite challenges, big data presents a relatively untapped resource that shows promise in helping to understand drivers of obesity.