October 2011 For immediate release Wellbeing Institute to be launched A centre that will tackle the issues of health

and wellbeing is to be launched at Leeds Metropolitan University.

The Institute for Health & Wellbeing will undertake research into the health status of individuals and communities and will investigate issues including mens health, healthy communities, health promotion and nutrition and childhood obesity.

Speaking ahead of the launch, Institute Director Professor Richard Hogston said: One of our key strengths is that our research is rooted in finding solutions that will have real impact on communities and businesses. Creating the Institute will bring together a range of related disciplines and make it easier for us all to work together, generate and apply our research to even higher levels of excellence.

The Institute for Health and Wellbeing will house a related range of disciplines within a single unit allowing innovation and collaboration to thrive. The Universitys research foundations and strengths are rooted in the practical implications of research (the doing) and the impact the research has on communities which will be nurtured through the work of the institute.

The Institute has six distinct yet related research themes: Healthy communities, Health promotion, Mens health, Men, gender and wellbeing, Nutrition & childhood obesity, pain science and management.

Its key benefits will include:

A greater focus on research and enterprise, reflecting the Universitys strategic plan Quality, Relevance and Sustainability The broad definition of Health and Wellbeing means the Institute will bring together a wide range of relevant research without being constrained by traditional boundaries

The creation of a critical mass across a related range of disciplines through which innovation and collaboration can thrive Reflecting the latest directions and priorities in funding, including key Government policy priorities (including workplace health and wellbeing) Presenting a cohesive portal to the external environment, making it easier for the research funding community, partners and clients to engage with our experienced researchers

Creating the Institute will build on the existing, high profile research work which the University delivers. Most recently, academics in the Centre for Mens Health at Leeds Metropolitan University have just completed a report which put the spotlight on the health of men right across Europe. The report, led by Leeds Mets Professor of Mens Health Alan White, set out to inform policy makers, health professionals, academics and the wider population of the health challenges men face across Europe. The report highlights the state of mens health in Europe as a serious public health concern.

Patterns emerging from data taken from 34 European countries show marked differences in health outcomes amongst men both between and within countries. Poor lifestyles and preventable risk factors account for a high share of premature death and illness in men, illustrating that their health disadvantage is not necessarily written in the genes but can be remedied in part by targeted policies and actions. Ends

For further details please contact Mark Dorey on 0113 812 3021 or email m.dorey@leedsmet.ac.uk

Notes for editors: Leeds Metropolitan University has 30,000 students and 3, 000 staff. The University has achieved its best ever Research Assessment Exercise results. Sports-Related Studies is in the top 6 institutions in the country with research rated at the highest levels of 4* and 3*. Leeds Met has been rated the top university in the UK for its language support, accommodation quality and learning spaces in the 2010 Autumn Wave of the International Student Barometer and sixth in the world for the quality of its lectures. The Universitys award-winning learning environments include

Broadcasting Place, voted the best tall building in the world in 2010 by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and also winner of the 2010 Leeds Architecture Awards New Building category, the iconic Rose Bowl building, awarded Best Commercial Property Development in the 2009 Yorkshire Property Awards and the pioneering Carnegie Village student accommodation. Leeds Metropolitan is one of only a handful of UK universities to have been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard.