Dr Grant Brinkworth: improving health with diet and exercise

Dr Grant Brinkworth is an exercise/nutritional physiologist developing diet and exercise programs to improve the health and wellbeing in the community.

• 8 November 2007 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr Brinkworth is a research scientist and project leader at CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences in Adelaide, South Australia.

Dr Brinkworth is member of the diet and lifestyle team and leads clinical research projects evaluating the role of diet composition and exercise training for health and the prevention and treatment of lifestyle disease, in the areas of:

• obesity
• cardiovascular disease
• diabetes
• polycystic ovary syndrome.

The 'obesogenic' environment that has encouraged overeating and reduced physical activity has led to a rapid rise in the rate of obesity and related disease, including:

• high blood pressure
• high blood cholesterol levels
• diabetes.

Due to the rising health and economic costs, Dr Brinkworth and his team are researching the health effects of different diets combined with exercise programs to determine the most effective diet composition and exercise regime to promote long-term weight control and health.

This research includes evaluating the long-term health effects of very low-carbohydrate, high fat Dr. Atkins diet and a low fat diet in a large clinical trial we are currently conducting.

This study will tell us how these diets affect the risk of heart disease and cancer, kidney function, bone and bowel health, mental function and the ability to participate in exercise and physical tasks.

The team is also evaluating how both aerobic and strength exercise and a combination of both can be used in the fight against obesity and metabolic disease.

Over 50 per cent of the Australian adult population do not participate in sufficient physical activity to achieve health benefits and the challenge is to motive individuals to become more active and to adopt healthier eating habits.

Ultimately we would like to deliver tailored lifestyle programs that are effective and sustainable to facilitate change in our exercise habits and food choices.

Academic qualifications

Dr Brinkworth undertook his undergraduate studies and his postgraduate training at the University of South Australia where he was awarded his Doctorate.

Achievements

Dr Brinkworth is the author of several scientific publications and made significant contributions to the widely acclaimed CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.

He is an Adjunct Research Fellow with the School of Health Sciences at the University of South Australia in Adelaide.

Read more about the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.