Professor of Physical Acitivy and Health Pedagogy and Director of the SPHERE Research Centre (Centre for Sport, Physical Activity and Health Equality). Elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

I am a social scientist working mostly across the fields of sociology and education with a focus on sport, physical activity and health. My research focuses on the relationships between individuals, health/physical activity and society, in two key ways. Firstly, throughout my career, I have been interested in understanding how we learn about health and our bodies (pedagogical processes) and the impact this has on our identities and how we view our bodies. This means asking research questions which are focused on the relationships between individuals, communities and societies. After over twenty years of research, it seems evident that pressures to perfect our bodies, remain a contemporary problem of our culture. Our bodies are increasingly understood as something we ‘work’ on, sometimes with devastating effects. My research is driven by a commitment to not only understand this in different contexts (education, digital environments, sport) but to develop more inclusive, healthy and social justice ways of relating to our bodies. Secondly, this research focuses on e issues of equality and exploring fundamental questions of access and opportunity to sport, physical activity and health.

I have published research across a range of fields, including the sociology of health, critical weight studies, health studies, pedagogy and digital health.  Much of this work is located in the area of critical pedagogies of health and physical activity, which has been applied to projects addressing priority research areas including digital health technologies, inclusion in sport and physical activity, obesity policy, health education in schools, eating disorders and schools.

I have led a sustained programme of research supported by prestigious funding bodies including ESRC, AHRC, Wellcome Trust, International Olympic Committee, Australian Research Council, Society for Educational Studies.   I am a named investigator on research projects which have received funding totalling over £1 million.

My work has contributed to the extant literature on sociology of health and critical pedagogy within physical activity and health settings, developing new and distinct theoretical perspectives to the study of health and health education. Key research areas and projects include: 

Health and Physical Education and the body

My earlier research with Professor John Evans centred on physical and health education, with a particular focus on the policies and practices within school. For example, I led an international collaboration with colleagues in UK, Australia and New Zealand examining the impact of anti-obesity health policy on schools (supported by ARC and ESRC funding).

Obesity and weight stigma 

Governments Governments have made and are continuing to make substantial investments in policies, strategies and research to address the perceived risks of obesity and related health issues. I have served as the principal investigator for a major international collaboration examining the way in which thinking about obesity has shaped the policies and practices of schools, revealing the detrimental effect on young people (ESRC research award Rich and Evans, 2009 and ARC linkage grant). This body of work has had a significant impact on related disciplines (critical health research, sociology of education, health education) in addition to informing policy debates internationally. This work also focuses on the way in which obesity policy and cultural meanings impact on the way people make sense of health and shape their practices related to physical activity and food. Some of the major contributions include; new and distinct theoretical perspectives on health and obesity; development of alternative health practices; contributions to special issues of leading journals; publications with health practitioners, activists and cultural workers and international scholars; guiding health practice and theory in relation to physical activity and weight. This work has contributed to contemporary public health debates about obesity and shaped the field of critical weight studies.   

Eating Disorders

My early work with colleagues I have undertaken research examining the relationship between the cultures, policies and practices of schools and the development of eating disorders. As outlined below, this work has offered unique qualitative perspectives which have contributed to our understanding of the development of this complex condition.

I am the academic lead for the Bristol Health Partners Eating Disorders Health Integration Team (EDHIT):

“The Eating Disorders Health Integration Team, known as EDHIT, is a team of people with lived experience of eating disorders, clinicians, academics, students, care and support providers, voluntary sector workers and others, working together to improve the lives of people with eating disorders/problems locally, nationally and internationally”

I am an expert advisor to the national eating disorder charity Talk ED (formally Anorexia and Bulimia Care)

Digital Health Technologies

My more recent focus has pioneered research in the area of digital health, applying these theoretical frameworks to examine how people are learning about health through digital technologies and the impact this has on their health practices. This digital health technology research is offering an empirical and applied focus, building on my earlier co-authored book ‘The Medicalisation of Cyberspace’ (2008) which explored how the cultures and infrastructures of health were being radically transformed by digital technology. 

I recently led a collaborative project funded by the Wellcome Trust on young people and digital health: The Digital Health Generation (DHG): The Impact of ‘healthy lifestyle’ technologies on young people’s learning, identities and health practices’ with Professor Deborah Lupton, Professor Andy Miah and Dr Sarah Lewis.

You can read more about the DHG project here.

This work is grounded in critical digital health studies and I have written on issues such as self-tracking cultures, mobile health apps, social media and the body.  This work has also contributed to research within the area of digital technologies and mental health.

Critical Digital Health pedagogies for PE Teachers 

Project Lead: Maria José Camacho-Miñano

Click here to find out more about the project

The aim of this project was to co-develop and evaluate innovative pedagogical ideas related to critical digital health in schools, and specifically in Physical Education (PE).

DigiHealthPE is a joint interdisciplinary effort covering all key areas to develop critical digital health pedagogies for PE teachers. 

This UNA Europa seed funding project brings together six researchers from four UNA Europa Universities partners and the University of Bath (UK). This international team of experts in the areas of health, education, gender and digital technologies aims to strengthen their existing relationship, build capacity and continue to develop their collaborative research that seeks to develop the healthy lifestyles of young people within our digital society.

The research team involves established academics with international expertise in the fields of education, sociology of healthy, physical education, gender and digital literacy studies. Each of these areas is important to form a coherent understanding of how to develop critical digital health pedagogies for PE teachers to help young people navigate the complexity of our digital society.

Impact

In addition to impacting on relevant academic fields, throughout this programme of work, I have ensured the practical application of this knowledge to enhance policy and address associated inequalities of health within different physical cultures and settings. To do so, public engagement is an important aspect of my research.  I have undertaken a range of public engagement activities including citizen science approaches, and curation of art exhibitions, films/documentaries. 

Alongside this, where possible, I have worked with a number of organisations to develop policy and practice in the area of critical approaches to health. This has involved government committee papers, membership and contributions to learned societies and committees, involvement in policy development (government summits, scoping workshops)