HALO (The Health of Adults Longitudinal Observational Study)
Overview:
The Health of Adults’ Longitudinal Observational (HALO) cohort has been established to investigate the links between health conditions and modifiable risk factors e.g. osteoarthritis and running by observing the physical activity and health of a target number of 4,500 people over 10-15 years.
One difficulty with research about physical activity and health is the lack of detailed physical activity data on large samples over many years. For example, many individuals believe that running will have a detrimental effect on their knees, yet the balance of previous research suggests that this is not the case - but these were small investigations and a large study is needed. Additionally, in an aging society, with increasing obesity and sedentary lifestyles, it is clear that a greater understanding in this area would be beneficial to the overall population regarding public health and exercise guidelines. This study is investigating many different areas e.g. running and OA; diabetes and habitual physical activity; exercise and asthma risk.
Aims and Objectives:
We seek to conduct world-leading research to help understand the relationship between chronic disease, such as osteoarthritis, and physical activity, such as running, and other modifiable risk factors (e.g. diet).
One research aim is to evaluate individuals who participate regularly in recreational running to investigate the development of knee osteoarthritis over time - by following a population of runners over a number of years, we seek to assess how risk factors, such as volume of running and injury, impact on joint health. In doing so, it is hoped that novel clinical practices may be highlighted and developed.