EGEA 2018Digital kit
K Lock

LOCK Karen

  • Professor of Public Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK

Professor Karen Lock has been working at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine with collaborations worldwide developing methods to measure contextual environmental determinants of diet, alcohol, physical activity and cardiovascular disease in a range of urban and rural populations in countries at all stages of economic development. In the UK, this research is focusing on what factors might define ‘healthy’ neighbourhoods and how this can be operationalised through local government polices such as planning and licencing. She is a member of the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH), an innovative programme to link agriculture and health research for international development. She has previously been involved in a number of food and agriculture policy processes. During 2007-9, she was an expert contributor to the European Commission DG Agri during development of new policy for school fruit and vegetable schemes as part of FV sector reform (SFS). She was a member of the World Bank Global Design and Writing Team for the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). Her early research focused on estimating the global burden of disease due to low intake of fruit and vegetables, and she has also contributed to systematic reviews on the effectiveness of interventions and programmes promoting fruit and vegetable intake worldwide.

Recent publications

  • Hawkesworth, S; Silverwood, RJ; Armstrong, B; Pliakas, T; Nanchahal, K; Sartini, C; Amuzu, A; Wannamethee, G; Atkins, J; Ramsay, SE; Casas, JP; Morris, RW; Whincup, PH; Lock K; (2017) Investigating the importance of the local food environment for fruit and vegetable intake in older men and women in 20 UK towns: a cross-sectional analysis of two national cohorts using novel methods. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 14 (1). p. 128. ISSN 1479-5868
  • Miller, V; Yusuf, S; Chow, CK; Dehghan, M; Corsi, DJ; Lock, K; et al; (2016) Availability, affordability, and consumption of fruits and vegetables in 18 countries across income levels: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Lancet Glob Health.
  • Morgan, EH; Vatucawaqa, P; Snowdon, W; Worsley, A; Dangour, AD; Lock, K; (2016) Factors influencing fruit and vegetable intake among urban Fijians: A qualitative study. Appetite, 101. pp. 114-8. ISSN 0195-6663 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.03.003