Research group leads: Dr Laura Hollands, Professor Mark Tarrant, and Professor Jonathan Pinkney

Plymouth Obesity Research Group (PLORG) focuses on improving the prevention, management, and treatment of obesity through high-quality, applied research. Our objective is to generate robust, actionable evidence that supports the development, evaluation, and implementation of effective and equitable interventions, by understanding the mechanisms that drive health and lifestyle change. 

Our work examines how health-related behaviours – such as diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle patterns – interact with wider determinants, including healthcare systems, biological determinants, social context, and the built and food environments. We also recognise the importance of social relationships and identity in shaping health, including the potential for social connection, peer support, and group-based approaches to support behaviour change and improve outcomes. While behavioural science underpins much of our research, we take a broad, cross-disciplinary approach that extends beyond individual behaviour alone.

PLORG brings together a cross-disciplinary team with expertise spanning psychology, medicine, neuroscience, primary care, and health services research. We use mixed methods and work with diverse populations across different settings, including public health, community, and healthcare environments. We work across the full research and intervention lifecycle, from theory- and evidence-informed development to rigorous evaluation and real-world implementation. Our research prioritises approaches to treatment that are feasible, scalable, and relevant to practice, acknowledging the complexity of obesity and the challenges of achieving sustained change in real-world settings.