What do we do in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences? Our research
The Durham University Department of Sport and Exercises leads research to help reduce inequalities, promote social justice and ensure better health and wellbeing within and through sport, exercise and physical activity.
View our short video to learn more about our research areas.
Research and Impact
Our research is designed to make a positive impact on people’s lives. All our research is led in a way to address inequalities, promote social justice, and ensure better health and wellbeing through sport, exercise and physical activity.
We challenge health inequalities in childhood obesity and increase physical activity through policy and practice. We fight to establish the Sustainable Development Goals as a new focus for global and national sport policies and work to shape UK Government policy on women football fans, addressing inequalities. We were also part of creating the first UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines for disabled adults; designing and promoting more effective and inclusive physical activity referral systems, and targeting health inequalities. We challenge sedentary behaviour messages for being ableist, and create new messages that are inclusive and are now adopted by National Public Health agencies. We provide an evidence-base for strategies to advance athlete health for sports performance and wellbeing, contributing to the UK Parliamentary inquiry into concussion in sport and engaging with professional and community sport, industry and global networks.
Behind the research
Our staff
Our staff hold pivotal research and leadership roles with incredible institutions such as; Durham Research Methods Centre, Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, Wolfson Research Institute of Health & Wellbeing, and Durham Institute of Medical Humanities.
Our funding
We are supported in our research by a range of generous funders, including the ESRC, Wellcome Trust, AHRC, NIHR, Leverhulme Trust, The British Academy, the World Health Organisation, The Football Association, HelpAge, Sport England, and Public Health England.
In our research, we value lived experiences, co-production, patient and public involvement, working with the media, outreach teams, museums and artists.