Dr Manny Noakes.

Dr Manny Noakes: champion of health and wellbeing

Dr Manny Noakes is a key member of CSIRO's research team looking at diet, nutrition and health. She is the leader of the research team that developed the Total Wellbeing Diet, a scientifically proven approach to wellbeing and weight loss.

• 2 February 2009 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities 
• The Total Wellbeing Diet 
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements 

Current activities

Dr Manny Noakes is currently a senior research scientist at CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences, South Australia, where she is the Project Leader for Diet and Lifestyle Programs and manages the Nutrition Behaviour and Health capability.

The research group is a multidisciplinary team aimed at developing evidence based lifestyle programs that target weight management and improved wellbeing.

The team draws upon CSIRO's capabilities in diet and nutrition, clinical science, physical activity, and behavioural and consumer science.

The Total Wellbeing Diet

The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet book was developed by Dr Noakes and Dr Peter Clifton and released in 2004.

This diet is aimed at minimising the health risks experienced by overweight Australians through better nutrition and weight management and draws upon some key health benefits of higher protein dietary patterns including assisting people lose weight without feeling excessively hungry.

The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet has broken sales records and been widely acclaimed and gained international recognition, having been translated into a number of different languages. 

The public response to the diet was so strong that this helped fuelled the development of The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet Book 2.

Books 1 and 2 are both available on audiotape.

While the results of the wellbeing diet plan have been gratifying, there is still much work to be done for the total wellbeing of Australians.

In October 2008 the CSIRO Healthy Heart Program was launched by Senator Jan McLucas.

The CSIRO Healthy Heart Program is a complete eating and exercise plan designed to reduce the growing problem of cardiovascular and related diseases such as diabetes. It looks at the top 10 foods for heart health as well as 10 warning signs to keep in mind.

These include not only cholesterol level, but also waist measurement, sleeping pattern, fitness and mental health.

Cardiovascular disease kills about one Australian every 10 minutes and prevents 1.4 million people from living a full life because of disability caused by the disease. In many cases these tragedies can be prevented simply by modifying eating habits and lifestyle choices.

The Diet and Lifestyle researchers continue to carry out trials which will ultimately provide the general public with scientifically based information on how to improve their health and wellbeing.

Background

Dr Noakes joined CSIRO in 1991 and is a key member of CSIRO’s research team looking at diet, nutrition and health.

In the late 1980s Dr Noakes took on the role of divisional dietitian at the National Heart Foundation, where she was active in the influential ‘Tick’ food endorsement program.

Dr Noakes is a former Chair of the National Heart Foundation's Nutrition and Metabolism Advisory Committee and has been involved in the development and oversight of several comprehensive evidence-based position papers on key nutrition issues that relate to diet and cardiovascular disease.

Dr Noakes completed her Doctorate on the role of fatty acids including trans fats on cardiovascular risk factors. She has published over 100 scientific papers.

Academic qualifications

Dr Noakes has the following qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science, from Adelaide University, South Australia
• Diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics, from Flinders University of South Australia
• Doctor of Philosophy, also from Flinders University.

Achievements

Dr Noakes is a well-recognised figure in the diet, nutrition and health field and is frequently called upon to be a guest speaker at both national and international conferences. 

Dr Noakes’ has won a number of prestigious awards, including:

• CSIRO Medal for Business Excellence, November 2005
• CSIRO Medal for Research Excellence, November 2005
• Flinders University Distinguished Alumni Award, 2006
• Healthy Development Adelaide Award, 2007.

Dr Noakes holds academic positions as an Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide and Affiliate Senior Lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Adelaide.

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