Dr Simon Williams PhD, FHEA

Dr Simon Williams (PhD, FHEA), lectures in exercise physiology, epidemiology and public health in the Institute of Management of Health (IMH)

As well as his lecturing in the IMH, Simon also works as a Project Manager in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board Adult Weight Management Service and as a tutor on an MSc Obesity and Weight Management, an on-line course provided by Learna Ltd, a medical education company based in Cardiff, UK.

Simon has previously been the External Examiner for the BSc (Hons) Sport and Physical Activity at Strathclyde University, Glasgow and the MSc Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health at Bristol University.

Simon is currently:

• a Trustee and Treasurer of the UK Association for the Study of Obesity
• a member of the Welsh Obesity Society Steering Committee
• a member of the National Exercise Referral Scheme Advisory Board in Wales
• one of the UK experts involved in the production of the 2018 UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines

Since completing his PhD in Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease in 2002, Simon’s research interests have focused on the epidemiology of obesity and physical activity, in particular the metabolic and vascular disturbances associated with visceral adipose tissue and the effects of exercise training, the association of cardiorespiratory fitness, obesity and metabolic syndrome in children and the identification of barriers to physical activity in socially disadvantaged people.

Simon was a co-investigator on a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded clinical trial examining the effect of a behavioural intervention on weight loss maintenance in adults and was co-founder of the Active Healthy Kids (Wales) report card.

Simon is currently investigating the effect of a dietary intervention in patients with non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD) with colleagues in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

• Childhood obesity and children’s physical activity
• Epidemiology of obesity and physical activity
• Physical activity and health
• Weight management and evaluation

• Epidemiological methods
• Obesity and weight management
• Physical activity and health

 Conference oral & abstract presentations (selected)

• Anthropometric characteristics of men undergoing coronary angiography. 1st International Congress on Coronary Artery Disease - From Intervention to Prevention. Prague, Czech Republic, September 21st-24th, 1997.
• Somatotype and angiographically-determined coronary artery disease in men. 2nd International Congress on Coronary Artery Disease - From Intervention to Prevention. Florence, Italy, October 18th-21st, 1998.
• Overweight and obese 12 and 13-year old children show features of the metabolic syndrome and increased fibrinogen but not hyperhomocysteineaemia. 13th European Congress on Obesity, Prague, Czech Republic, 26th-29th May. International Journal of Obesity 28 S1, 2004.
• Serum adiponectin and body composition in obese men. 1st International Congress on Prediabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome. Berlin, Germany, April 13th-16th 2005.
• The prevalence of hypertriglyceridaemia and low HDL-cholesterol in children and adolescents in Wales, UK: Preliminary observations and comparison of paediatric and adult cut-off points. 1st International Congress on Prediabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome. Berlin, Germany, April 13th-16th 2005.
• Obesity prevalence estimates in children and adolescents in Wales, UK: A comparison of standards based on BMI and waist girth. IASO International Congress on Obesity, Sydney, Australia, September 2006 and Obesity Reviews (2006) 7: S2; 234.
• Prevalence Estimates of the Metabolic Syndrome in Children and Adolescents in Wales, UK.  IASO International Congress on Obesity, Sydney, Australia, September 2006 and Obesity Reviews (2006) 7: S2; 234.
• Association between Aerobic Fitness and Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Children and Adolescents in Wales, UK. 2nd World Congress on Prediabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome, Barcelona, April 2007 and Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research (2007) 4.
• The effects of aerobic exercise training on visceral adipose tissue, liver fat and glucose tolerance in previously sedentary, overweight and obese non-diabetic men. 2nd World Congress on Prediabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome, Barcelona, April 2007 and Diabetes & Vascular Disease Research (2007) 4: S172, 2007 .
• Association of alanine aminotransferase with aerobic fitness in healthy children and adolescents in Wales, UK. 3rd World Congress on Prediabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome, Nice, France, April 2009 and Journal of Diabetes, Volume 1 Supplement 1, page A179.
• Fighting Obesity. Invited Lecture at Prescribing Greenspace, GreenSpace Annual Conference, Mayfair Conference Centre, London, November 2011.
• How Much Exercise for Weight Loss Maintenance. Invited Lecture at the National Obesity Forum (Wales) Annual Meeting, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, May 2012.

 Publications (selected)

1. SRP Williams, E Jones, W Bell, B Davies, MW Bourne (1997). Body habitus and coronary heart disease in men. A review with reference to methods of body habitus assessment. European Heart Journal 18: 376-393.
2. SRP Williams, J Goodfellow, B Davies, W Bell, I McDowell, E Jones (2000). Somatotype and angiographically-determined atherosclerotic coronary artery disease in men. American Journal of Human Biology 12: 128-138.
3. Simon Williams and Rhys Williams. Obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and the metabolic syndrome: What are the choices for prevention in the twenty-first century? In, McNammee, M (Ed). Philosophy and the Sciences of Exercise, Health and Sport. Essays for Critical Research. Routledge, November 2004.
4. Simon Williams.  Active Lives: Physical Activity in Disadvantaged Communities. Full Report. Bevan Foundation Policy Paper no. 9. ISBN 1-094767-18-4. The Bevan Foundation, Tredegar, July 2006.
5. Taylor J, Williams S, Rhys R, James P, Frenneaux M. Conjugated Linoleic Acid Impairs Endothelial Function. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 26: 1-6; 2006.
6. Sabin M, De Hora M, Holly J, Hunt L, Ford A, Williams S, Baker J, Retallick C, Crowne E and Shield J. Fasting non-esterified fatty acid profiles in childhood and their relationship with adiposity, insulin sensitivity and lipids. Pediatrics (2007) 120:6; 1426-1433.
7. Stratton, G., Williams, S. et al. Healthy Active Kids Report Card (Wales). September 2014. http://www.swansea.ac.uk/activehealthykidswales/.
8. Simpson, S., Williams, S. et al A feasibility randomised controlled trial of a motivational interviewing intervention for weight loss maintenance in adults. NIHR Journals Library, Health Technology Assessment, Volume 19, Issue 50, July 2015.
9. Stratton G, Cox R, Mannello M, Mattingley R, Robert C, Sage R, Taylor S, Williams S, Tyler R. (2016). Active Healthy Kids Wales 2016 Report Card.
10. Tyler, R., Williams, S., Stratton, G et al. Results from Wales’ 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth: Is Wales Turning the Tide on Children’s Inactivity? Journal of Physical Activity and Health 13 (Suppl 2): S330-336; 2016.
11. Stratton G, Edwards L, Tyler R, Blain D, Bryant A, et al. (2018). Active Healthy Kids Wales 2018 Report Card https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jpah/15/s2/article-pS430.xml.
12. Edwards L et al. Results from Wales’ 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/full/10.1123/jpah.2018-0544.