PhD, MSc, BSc(Hons)
Lecturer
- 51cg
-
- Email Address
- j.kyle@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 438039
- Office Address
Postgraduate Education Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences 51cg Room 1.078 Polwarth Building Foresterhill Aberdeen AB25 2ZD
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition

Biography
Janet graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a BSc (Hons) in Food Science and microbiology, then gained a MSc(Med sci) in Human Nutrition from the University of Glasgow. After graduating she spent 7 years working as a research assistant, at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen on a series of Food Standards Agency and EU human intervention and supplementation projects investigating the uptake and potential antioxidant/oxidant effects of flavonoids and selenium on human health. During this time she completed her PhD at the 51cg which focussed on dietary flavonoid intake and colorectal cancer risk. On completing her PhD she undertook a Marie Curie Industrial Research Fellowship based at Unilever R&D, Vlaardingen in the Netherlands. In 2005 she returned to Aberdeen to join the Public Health Nutrition Research Group as a Research Fellow in nutrition and to manage the Scottish Collaborative Group Food Frequency Questionnaire service.
In 2011 she moved into lecturing co-ordinating post graduate courses as part of the International Health & Management and Global Health programmes, before returning to Public Health Nutrition as programme co-ordinator for the MSc in Human Nutrition in February 2013 to 2018. Currently, she coordinates the online Masters in Public Health
Qualifications
- PhD Human Nutrition2003 - 51cg
- MSc (Med sci) Human Nutrition1995 - University of Glasgow
- BSc (Hons) Food Science & Microbiology1994 - University of Strathclyde
Latest Publications
Associations between demographic, clinical and dietary factors and flares in inflammatory bowel disease: the PRognostic effect of Environmental factors in Crohn’s and Colitis (PREdiCCt) prospective cohort study
Gut, vol. 75, no. 8, pp. 1491-1504Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Understanding factors affecting engagement with food-related services in areas of deprivation: a mixed-methods approach
Journal of Health Psychology, vol. 31, no. 8, pp. 3379-3394Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Nutrient intake, dietary patterns and relationship to symptoms and comorbidities in hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland), vol. 56, pp. 106538Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Uptake, retention, and delivery of community dietary interventions within low socioeconomic populations
Psychology & HealthContributions to Journals: Review articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Food insecurity: insights from community food support users in Scotland
European Journal of Public HealthContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
- Research
-
Research Overview
- Nutritional Epidemiology - investigating the role of diet in relation to disease, my current projects focus on the role of diet in the management of inflammatory bowel disease and cancer.
- Dietary assessment methods and their appropriate application research studies including cohort studies, clinical trials and human nutrition interventions. This is primarily facilitated through the Institute of Applied Health Sciences dietary assessment team which supports and collaborates with multidisciplinary teams of researchers.
- This interest includes investigating online and mobile methods of dietary assessment and developing novel food composition databases both within the UK and internationally.
- Community nutrition, understanding the role of dietary interventions in improving health and wellbeing within low-income communities
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Applied Health Sciences.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Research Specialisms
- Environmental and Public Health
- Food Science
- Health Sciences
- Nutrition
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is , published under the licence.
Current Research
- Development of nutrient and food portion databases to support calculation packages linked to dietary assessment tools including web-based 24hr recall and food frequency questionnaires. These are for both local and internatonal projects based in Nepal, India and Saudi Arabia.
- Design and completion of validation studies for food questionnaire questionnaires
- Food security: maximinising nutirent quality and minimisation of environmental impact of rice production; calculation of environmental impact of diets meeting dietary recommendations.
- Development of novel nutrititive food composition databases to factilitate the epidemiological assessment of dietary intake and disease risk.
- Investigating the role of diet in relation to inflammatory bowel disease
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Applied Health Sciences.
Postgraduate Research supervision:
- In gut health not all dietary fibres are equal: developing a novel measurement application (Jan 2024-2028).
- Improving Child Health Globally: an interdisciplinary study to help elucidate complex determinants of child growth failure and related health outcomes in low and middle-income countries (Oct 2023-2027).
- Developing a novel social prescription client engagement and support toolkit’ (2022-2026).
- Development of short dietary assessment tools for monitoring diet disease interactions (2021-suspended)
- Using mobile technology for weight reduction among Saudi women’ (completed 2020)
- Feasibility of community-based agricultural and household interventions to improve health, household food security and the environment in Nepal’ (completed 2018).
- Rice: maximising nutrient quality, while ensuring environmental sustainability and minimum heavy metal contamination’ (completed 2017).
- Nutritional needs for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in Nepal’ (completed 2014).
- Inflammatory biomarkers of colorectal neoplasia and their manipulation by an anti-inflammatory diet’ (completed 2012).
Funding and Grants
- Thies et al, Scottish Government, RESAS (coPI) Optimizing intervention strategies via social prescribing as a means of encouraging and enabling healthy and sustainable dietary behaviours in individuals from low-income families (£273,000), until 2027
- Kiltie et al, Friends of Anchor (CoI) The oro-intestinal microbiota as a novel marker for early detection and target for prevention of oral cancer (£15,000), until 2023.
- Lees et al, Scottish Government CSO Office & Crohn’s in Childhood Research Association (co PI) with University of Edinburgh. “The prognostic effect of environmental factors in Crohn’s and colitis” Johnstone, A. & Kyle, J. (£213k), complete 2021.
- Gratz et al MRC development award (coPI) “ Mycotoxin exposure, intestinal inflammation and childhood stunting in India” (£24k), complete 2020.
- MacDiarmid et al, Scottish Government Rural Payments & Inspections Directorate (coPI). Centre of Expertise Climate Change Mitigation Module. (£75k), until 2016.
- Scottish Crucible, co-applicants, Unravelling the impact of dietary iodine exposure on brain structures & cognition in the elderly: a study on a large Scottish cohort’, (£36,000).
- NHS Endowment Fund, Dietary Intake of Inorganic Nitrate and Arterial Dysfunction in CVD patients, March 2011 (£5,500).
- WWF UK, Healthy low impact diets, March 2010, extended to October 2011 and October 2012 (£20,000).
- Marie Curie Industrial Research Fellowship, Jan 2003-December 2005 (€100,000).
- Teaching
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Programmes
- Postgraduate, 6 semester, January start
Teaching Responsibilities
- Post-graduate teaching within the Institute of Applied Health Sciences: delivering lectures on a range of Public Health Nutrition related topics
- Programme co-ordinator for online Master in Public Health
- Co-ordinator for following courses:
- Public Health Nutrition
- Contributions to postgraduate teaching:
- Global Health in Context
- Challenges in Global Nutrition
- Assessment of Nutritional Status
- Foundations of Nutrition
- Nutrition & Health
- Contributions to undergraduate teaching
- 1st year Medicine: Art of Science
- 1st year Medicine: self selected elective Population Health course
- 3rd year Sport sciences:
- CPD Introductory and advanced Short Courses in Dietary Assessment Methods
- Publications
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Associations between demographic, clinical and dietary factors and flares in inflammatory bowel disease: the PRognostic effect of Environmental factors in Crohn’s and Colitis (PREdiCCt) prospective cohort study
Gut, vol. 75, no. 8, pp. 1491-1504Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Understanding factors affecting engagement with food-related services in areas of deprivation: a mixed-methods approach
Journal of Health Psychology, vol. 31, no. 8, pp. 3379-3394Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Nutrient intake, dietary patterns and relationship to symptoms and comorbidities in hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland), vol. 56, pp. 106538Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Uptake, retention, and delivery of community dietary interventions within low socioeconomic populations
Psychology & HealthContributions to Journals: Review articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Food insecurity: insights from community food support users in Scotland
European Journal of Public HealthContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
General practitioners’ perspectives on social prescribing in primary care
European Journal of Public HealthContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
A low dietary quality index in a newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease cohort: results from a case control study
Nutrients, vol. 17, no. 6, 958Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Social prescribers’ referral processes and decision-making about healthy eating and physical activity
European Journal of Public HealthContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
Exploring uptake and adherence to ‘healthy eating’ interventions in low socio-economic communities via a thematic narrative synthesis
Proceedings of the Nutrition SocietyContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
Development of the VEGANScreener,: a Tool for a Quick Diet Quality Assessment among Vegans in Europe
Nutrients, vol. 16, no. 9, 1344Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
An inclusive strategy to enhance equity and quality of research-led teaching experience
Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations- [ONLINE]
Creation, Development and Enhancement of Academic Peer Review Panel to support the development and deployment of assessments
14th 51cg Annual Academic Development Symposium 2023Contributions to Conferences: PostersBridging barriers to advance multisector approaches to improve food security, nutrition and population health in Nepal: transdisciplinary perspectives
BMC Public Health, vol. 19, 961Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
The Twazon Arabic Weight Loss App: App-Based Intervention for Saudi Women With Obesity
JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth, vol. 7, no. 5, 10923Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE]
Relationship between pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour and dietary intake patterns
Sustainable Production and Consumption, vol. 16, pp. 216-226Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Effect of increasing fruit and vegetable intake by dietary intervention on nutritional biomarkers and attitudes to dietary change: a randomised trial
European Journal of Nutrition, vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 1855-1872Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Relationship Between Evidence Requirements, User Expectations, and Actual Experiences: Usability Evaluation of the Twazon Arabic Weight Loss App
JMIR human factors, vol. 5, no. 2, e16Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Dietary iodine exposure and brain structures and cognition in older people: Exploratory analysis in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936
Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, vol. 21, no. 9, pp. 971-979Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Assessing the relative validity of the Scottish Collaborative Group FFQ for measuring dietary intake in adults
Public Health Nutrition, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 449-455Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
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Type and extent of trans-disciplinary co-operation to improve food security, health and household environment in low and middle income countries: systematic review
BMC Public Health, vol. 16, 1093Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Dietary factors and biomarkers of systemic inflammation in older people: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936
British Journal of Nutrition, vol. 114, no. 7, pp. 1088-1098Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Resourcefulness, Desperation, Shame, Gratitude and Powerlessness: Common Themes Emerging from A Study of Food Bank Use in Northeast Scotland
AIMS Public Health, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 297-317Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Exploratory analysis of dietary intake and brain iron accumulation detected using magnetic resonance imaging in older individuals: the Lothian Birth cohort 1936
Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 64-69Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
"It was an education in portion size":: Experience of eating a healthy diet and barriers to long term dietary change
Appetite, vol. 71, pp. 411-419Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
When is a Healthy Diet Not a Sustainable Diet?
Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 63, no. Suppl. 1, pp. 973Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI:
Which Nutrients Limit Changes to More Sustainable Diets?
Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 63, no. Suppl. 1, pp. 909-909Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI:
Defining "sustainable" and "healthy" diets in an era of great environmental concern and increased prevalence of chronic diseases Reply
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 97, no. 5, pp. 1152-1153Contributions to Journals: Letters- [ONLINE] DOI:
Reply to I Hawkins and J Sabaté
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 97, no. 5, pp. 1152-1153Contributions to Journals: Letters- [ONLINE] DOI:
Sustainable diets for the future: can we contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by eating a healthy diet? (vol 96, pg 632, 2012): Erratum
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 97, no. 2, pp. 449Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Assessment of Dietary Knowledge and Intake Among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nepal
Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 63, no. Suppl. 1, pp. 1374Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI:
How much land is required to produce a healthy diet with reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the UK?
Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 63, no. Suppl. 1, pp. 984-985Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI:
Sustainable diets for the future: can we contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by eating a healthy diet?
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 96, no. 3, pp. 632-639Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
The association of dietary intake of purine-rich vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages and dairy with plasma urate, in a cross-sectional study
PloS ONE, vol. 7, no. 6, e38123Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Accuracy of diet quality perception in Scottish adults
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 71, no. OCE3, E228Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE] DOI:
Diet, environmental factors, and lifestyle underlie the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in healthy adults in Scotland, and supplementation reduces the proportion that are severely deficient
The Journal of Nutrition, vol. 141, no. 8, pp. 1535-1542Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Flavonoid intake in relation to cognitive function in later life in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936
British Journal of Nutrition, vol. 106, no. 1, pp. 141-148Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
A systematic review of salicylates in foods: estimated daily intake of a Scottish population
Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, vol. 55, no. Suppl. 1, pp. S7-S14Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Alcohol intake and cognitive abilities in old age: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study
Neuropsychology, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 166-175Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Livewell: a balance of healthy and sustainable food choices
World Wildlife Fund UK. 64 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsChemical transmission through the food chain
Environmental Medicine. Ayres, J., Harrison, R., Nichols, G., Maynard, R. (eds.). Hodder Arnold, pp. 259-275, 17 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersDietary flavonoid intake and colorectal cancer: a case-control study
British Journal of Nutrition, vol. 103, no. 3, pp. 429-436Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Caffeine consumption and cognitive function at age 70: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study
Psychosomatic Medicine, vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 206-214Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
Caffeine, cognition, and socioeconomic status
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 20, no. S1, pp. S151-S159Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Food frequency questionnaires vs diet diaries
International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 884Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates- [ONLINE] DOI:
Diet and risk factors for age-related maculopathy
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 712-722Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
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Dietary flavonoid intake is associated with bone mineral density in early postmenopausal Scottish women
Bone Research Society Annual Meeting 2007, pp. 1121-1122Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE]
Effects of infusion time and addition of milk on content and absorption of polyphenols from black tea
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 55, no. 12, pp. 4889-4894Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Dietary Flavonoids and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 684-693Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
The effects of cranberry juice consumption on antioxidant status and biomarkers relating to heart disease and cancer in healthy human volunteers
European Journal of Nutrition, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 113-122Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
Nutritional relevance of flavonoids in disease prevention
Natural Product Communications, vol. 1, no. 11, pp. 1049-1060Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews