Profile
Dr Catherine Kerr
Position: Reader
(Physical Activity and Well-being)
Contact details
- T: 01234
793214
- E: catherine.kerr@beds.ac.uk
Qualifications
- PhD
Medicine
- MSc
Nutritional Medicine
- BSc
(Hons) Sport and Exercise Science
Teaching Responsibilities
- Undergraduate teaching: exercise physiology, exercise and health, sport
and exercise nutrition
- Supervision of undergraduate dissertations
- Postgraduate: development of Master’s provision in area of physical
activity, nutrition and health
Research Degree Supervision
- 2 PhD
completions
- 1 MD
examination
- Currently
supervising 5 PhD students
Research Interests
- The
role of physical activity in the management of metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes)
risk factors in 10-18 year olds
- Obesity,
type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease – the role of physical activity,
nutrition and other lifestyle factors
- Intervention
strategies to promote physical activity and health in schoolchildren
- The
role of pedagogical strategies in increasing physical activity levels during
physical education lessons
Recent Research Projects
- Centre for
Obesity Research, Luton and Dunstable Hospital, The Metabolic Syndrome (pre-diabetic state) in children aged 10-18
years old – prevalence, effective early detection, and implementation of
effective preventative/MS management schemes in community based settings (Principal
Applicant and Project Manager with Dr L Brown, £15,448, 2009-2011. Matched
funding by University
of Bedfordshire Bursary Scheme
= total £30,896)
- Faculty of
Education and Sport Research and Development Fund, A comparison of the effects of 18 weeks aerobic, resistance and
‘combination’ exercise training on the lipid profile, resting glucose/insulin
dynamics and blood pressure in sedentary males (Principal Applicant, £4480,
2009-2010).
- Eileen Alexander Trust, The role of pedagogical strategies in increasing
physical activity levels during physical education lessons (Principal Project
Manager and Principal Applicant, £46,700, 2007-2010).
- Eileen
Alexander Trust, Assessment of validity
and reliability of energy expenditure / physical activity methods to assess
school-based and free-living physical activity patterns among children (Part of project above).
- Bedford Charity
(The Harpur Trust) Community Grants Programme School-based intervention strategies for increasing participation in
physical activity. Impact on fitness, cardiovascular health parameters and body
composition (Principal Project Manager and Principal Applicant with Dr L
Brown et al £84,000, 2008-2010).
- Bedford Physical
Education Old Students’ Association (Educational Projects Fund), School-based interventions to promote
physical activity in schoolchildren (Principal Applicant, £1,182, 2008-2010).
Recent Publications
- Brown LA, Kerr
CJ, Whiting, P, Finer, N, McEneny, J and Ashton, T. Oxidant stress in healthy normal-weight,
overweight and obese individuals (2009). Obesity Research 17 (3): 460-466.
- Smith LR, Kerr
CJ, Brown LA, Denton S, Fairclough SJ (2009) Does Physical Education (PE) make
a significant contribution to the recommended 60 minutes of moderate-vigorous
physical activity (MVPA) per day? Abstract and oral presentation 31st
March 2009. Student BASES Conference, Hull University.
- Van Blerk C (Kerr) et al (2007) Relationships between physical
activity, obesity and fitness parameters in year 9 schoolchildren – a pilot
study in Sandy Upper School,
Beds. Report produced for the school, Primary Care Trust, and local council
involved in its management (April 2007).
- Brown LA, Van Blerk C. (Kerr), Whiting, P, Finer, N and McEneny, J (2006)
Obesity-associated oxidative stress: Potential cofounders and lack of
association with platelet aggregation. Abstract, International Congress of
Obesity Proceedings.
- Brown L, Van Blerk C (Kerr),
Finer N, McEneny, and Reavell C (2005) Short-term
effects of two popular dietary interventions for weight loss (versus a control
group) on lipid peroxidation, LDL oxidation and antioxidant balance. Abstract. Obesity
Reviews (2005) Volume 6
Issue s1 Page 2, No O003
Recent Conference Presentations
- Smith
LR, Kerr CJ, Brown LA, Denton S, Fairclough SJ (2009) Does Physical Education
(PE) make a significant contribution to the recommended 60 minutes of
moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day? Student British Association
of Sport Sciences (BASES) Conference, Hull University.
- Smith
LR, Brown LA, and Van Blerk CJ (Kerr) (2008) ‘A Comparison of the Reliability
of Several Physical Activity Instruments to Assess Physical Activity in School
Children aged 11-12 years’. Student BASES Conference, University of Bedfordshire.
- Van Blerk C (Kerr), Brown L, Finer N (2005) Short-term effects of two
popular dietary interventions for weight loss (versus a control group) on body
composition, hydration status, and resting metabolic rate. 14th European Congress of Obesity
June 2005 (Athens).
