Dr Helen Parretti

Dr Helen Parretti MA (Oxon), PhD, MRSC, CChem, MBBS, MSc, MRCGP

Department of Applied Health Sciences
Honorary NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer
Clinical Senior Lecturer at University of East Anglia

Contact details

Email: h.m.parretti@bham.ac.uk

Address: The Learning Centre
University 麻豆精选
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Helen is an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer and GP working in the child, maternity and lifestyle research group. Her work is focussed on weight management and obesity. She primarily works on clinical trials investigating new weight management interventions.

She has also published a systematic review on the clinical effectiveness of very low energy diets. She led the development of a set of RCGP endorsed guidelines for primary care health professionals on the management of patients following bariatric surgery and went on to be a GP member for an expert group developing guidelines for the long term follow up of this group of patients. She is a personal tutor for MBChB students and is the RCGP representative to the RCP Joint Specialty Committee for Endocrinology and Diabetes Mellitus.

Qualifications

MSc in Clinical Primary and Community Care(distinction), University 麻豆精选, 2015
Member Royal College of General Practitioners, 2015
MBBS, St George’s, University of London, 2006
PhD in solid state chemistry, University 麻豆精选, 1998
Member of Royal Society of Chemistry and Chartered Chemist 1997
MA (Oxon) in chemistry, University of Oxford, 1995

Biography

Helen started at the University of Oxford studying chemistry, gaining a 2:1 in 1995. She continued working in chemistry, completing a PhD in solid state chemistry in 1998 at the University 麻豆精选 and then going to become a postdoctoral research fellow (University 麻豆精选 and then Imperial College, London). In 2002 she decided to change careers and retrain as a doctor and completed a graduate entry medical degree at St George’s, University of London in 2006.

After foundation training she chose to train as a GP and returned to research when she completed her GP training as an Academic Clinical Fellow (ACF) in 2013. During her ACF she was awarded a RCGP Midlands Faculty AiT excellence award and completed a MSc in Clinical and Primary Community Care with distinction. She was appointed as a NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer at the University 麻豆精选 on completing her GP training in 2015. She works two days a week as an honorary salaried GP in a local surgery and spends the rest of the week conducting research into weight management within the child, maternity and lifestyle research group in the Institute of Applied Health Research.

Teaching

Medicine and Surgery MBChB years 1 and 5.

Postgraduate supervision

Helen is currently co-supervisor for a PhD student working on postnatal weight management.
She was a co-supervisor for a MPH student research project in 2014.

Research

Helen has recently led a clinical trial investigating drinking water before main meals as a weight loss intervention, funded by a RCGP Scientific Foundation Board Grant and a European Hydration Institute student grant. She has also led a systematic review on the clinical effectiveness of very low energy diets.

She has been a member of multidisciplinary expert groups developing guidance for the management of patients following bariatric surgery. The guidance for the management of these patients, developed specifically for primary care was endorsed by the RCGP. Currently, she is co-principal investigator for a clinical trial investigating a postnatal weight management intervention and is principal investigator for a CLAHRC WM supported trial involving renal patients.

Helen is a member of the Child, Maternity and Lifestyle research group within Institute of Applied Health Research.

Other activities

Member of a NHS England Severe and Complex Obesity CRG subgroup developing guidance for the follow up of patients undergoing bariatric surgery, 2015-2016.
Personal tutor for University of Birmingham MBChB students since September 2015.
SCOPE (specialist certification of obesity professional education) certified, 2015.
RCGP representative to the RCP Joint Specialty Committee for Endocrinology and Diabetes Mellitus since 2014.
GPs with an interest in nutrition group member since 2013.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Daley, AJ, Griffin, RA, Sanders, JP, Gokal, K, Ives, N, Skrybant, M, Parretti, H, Edwardson, CL, Biddle, SJH, Jolly, K, Greaves, C, Greenfield, SM, Maddison, R, Esliger, DW, Sherar, LB, Frew, E, Mutrie, N, Maylor, B, Yates, T, Tearne, S & Moakes, CA 2025, '', International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Krouwel, M, Greenfield, SM, Chalkley, A, Sanders, JP, Parretti, HM, Gokal, K, Jolly, K, Skrybant, M, Biddle, SJH, Greaves, C, Maddison, R, Mutrie, N, Ives, N, Esliger, DW, Sherar, L, Edwardson, CL, Yates, T, Frew, E, Tearne, S, Daley, AJ & Kwaghe, AV (ed.) 2023, '', PLOS One, vol. 18, no. 9, e0291040.

Daley, AJ, Griffin, RA, Moakes, CA, Sanders, JP, Skrybant, M, Ives, N, Maylor, B, Greenfield, SM, Gokal, K, Parretti, HM, Biddle, SJH, Greaves, C, Maddison, R, Mutrie, N, Esliger, DW, Sherar, L, Edwardson, CL, Yates, T, Frew, E, Tearne, S & Jolly, K 2023, '', Pilot and Feasibility Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, 45.

Pallan, M, Mason, F, Parretti, H, Adab, P, Abbott, S & Jolly, K 2023, '', British Journal of General Practice .

Luli, M, Yeo, G, Farrell , E, Ogden, J, Parretti, H, Frew, E, Bevan , S, Blakemore, A, Brown, A, Logue, J, Menon, V, Isack, N, Lean , M, Roberts , A, McEwan , C, Gately , P, Roberts, K, Williams, S, Williams, G, Astbury, N, Maria, B, Clare, K, Combet, E, Dimitriadis, GK, Finlayson, G, Heslehurst, N, Le Brocq, S, McGinley, P, Mueller, J, O'Kane, M, Richards, R, Batterham, RL & Miras, A 2023, '', EClinicalMedicine, vol. 58, 101962.

Gokal, K, Amos-Hirst, R, Moakes, C, Sanders, JP, Esliger, DW, Sherar, LB, Ives, N, Biddle, SJH, Edwardson, C, Frew, E, Yates, T, Greaves, C, Rowland, N, Greenfield, S, Jolly, K, Skrybant, M, Maddison, R, Mutrie, N, Parretti, H & Daley, A 2022, '', BMC Public Health, vol. 22, no. 618, 618.

Abbott, S, Parretti, H & Greenfield, S 2021, '', Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 494-503.

Daley, AJ, Jolly, K, Ives, N, Jebb, SA, Tearne, S, Greenfield, SM, Yardley, L, Little, P, Tyldesley-Marshall, N, Bensoussane, H, Pritchett, RV, Frew, E & Parretti, HM 2021, '', Health Technology Assessment, vol. 25, no. 49.

Snacktivity Study Team 2021, '', Preventive Medicine, vol. 153, 106851.

Tyldesley-Marshall, N, Greenfield, S, Parretti, H, Gokal, K, Greaves, C, Jolly, K, Maddison, R, Daley, A & Snacktivity Study Team 2021, '', International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Tyldesley-Marshall, N, Greenfield, S, Parretti, H, Jolly, K, Jebb, S & Daley, A 2021, '', BMC pregnancy and childbirth, vol. 21, no. 1, 462.

Hazlehurst, J, Logue, J, Parretti, H, Abbott, S, Brown, A, Pournaras, D & Tahrani, A 2020, '', Current Obesity Reports, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 530鈥�543.

Comment/debate

Sharma, M, Nayar, R, Graham, Y, Parretti, HM, Abbott, S, Tahrani, A, Miras, AD, Madhok, B, Singhal, R & Mahawar, K 2022, '', Obesity surgery, vol. 32, no. 7, pp. 2469-2470.

Review article

Grey, E, Griffin, T, Jolly, K, Pallan, M, Parretti, H, Retzer, A & Gillison, F 2023, '', Obesity Reviews.

Lambert, AM, Parretti, HM, Pearce, E, Price, MJ, Riley, M, Ryan, R, Tyldesley-marshall, N, Av艧ar, TS, Matthewman, G, Lee, A, Ahmed, K, Odland, ML, Correll, CU, Solmi, M & Marshall, T 2022, '', PLoS Medicine, vol. 19, no. 4, e1003960.