Timothy David Spector (born 1958) is a British

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent diseases. It is a cornerstone ...

, medical doctor, and science writer, working on the relationship between nutrition, the gut microbiome, and health. He argues against low-fat diets and

fad diet A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard scientific dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; ...

s,"Advice against eating fat was wrong. It is time the experts admitted it"
''Spectator Health''. Retrieved November 30, 2018. and instead advocates for a Mediterranean-style diet that is heavily plant-based, high in fibre, limits ultra-processed foods, and includes a diversity of plants.

Biography

Spector was born in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

in July 1958. His mother was an Australian physiotherapist and competitive swimmer; his father was Walter Graham Spector (1924–1982), a pathologist. After being privately educated at

University College School University College School, also known as UCS, is a private day school in Frognal, Hampstead, London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views. ...

, London, Spector trained in medicine at St Bartholomew's hospital medical school. He rose to the position of consultant

rheumatologist Rheumatology () is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatology covers more than 100 different complex diseases, c ...

, before turning to

genetic epidemiology Genetic epidemiology is the study of the role of genetic factors in determining health and disease in families and in populations, and the interplay of such genetic factors with environmental factors. Genetic epidemiology seeks to derive a statist ...

, the study of genetic factors in health and disease, in 1992. Spector is professor of genetic epidemiology and director of the TwinsUK registry at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. He is a specialist in

twin studies Twin studies are studies conducted on Identical twin, identical or Fraternal twin, fraternal twins. They aim to reveal the importance of environmental and genetics, genetic influences for traits, phenotypes, and disorders. Twin research is consid ...

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

epigenetics In biology, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that happen without changes to the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix ''epi-'' (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "on top of" or "in ...

, and

microbiome A microbiome () is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps ''et al.'' as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably wel ...

and diet. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to the Covid-19 response. He was also appointed Senior Investigator at the

National Institute for Health Research The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "improv ...

(NIHR).

Twin studies

Spector's team at King's College have, since 1992, enrolled 15,000 sets of identical twins in the TwinsUK studies, leading to many studies on the heritability of diseases and disorders. Spector states the goal is "to understand nature versus nurture".

''The Diet Myth''

Spector's book ''The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat'' was published in 2015. The book explains how

gut microbiota Gut microbiota, gut microbiome, or gut flora are the microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses, that live in the digestive tracts of animals. The gastrointestinal metagenome is the aggregate of all the genomes of the g ...

s may interact with different dietary habits and how the gut microbiome can determine health and longevity.Handysides, Stuart. (2016)
''Books: The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat''
''

British Journal of General Practice The ''British Journal of General Practice'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal for general practitioners and primary care researchers. History The journal was established in 1953 as the ''College of General Practitioners' Research Newsle ...

'' 66 (648): 378–379. It received positive reviews in science journals. Spector argues for a diet that increases gut microbe diversity. To do this he recommends increasing fibre content, avoiding

junk food "Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calorie#Nutrition, calories from macronutrients such as sugar and fat, and often also high in sodium, making it hyperpalatable, and low in dietary fiber, Protein (nutrient), protein, or m ...

and ultra-processed foods, and experimenting with different fresh foods."From 30 vegetables a week to faecal transplants: Keeping your gut microbiome happy is the key to healthy eating"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. Retrieved November 30, 2018.

''Spoon Fed''

In his book ''Spoon Fed'' (2020), Spector discusses how microbes may affect

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

COVID Symptom Study

In March 2020, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, Spector made use of twins already taking part in a

genetic study Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

to begin an investigation of COVID-19 symptoms. Working with researchers at King's College, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals, an app used by twins to record nutrition was used as the basis for the COVID Symptom Study app to allow members of the public to make a daily record of their symptoms and state of health. By July 2020 the app had more than 4 million users, and the next month the project received grant funding from the

Department of Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the s ...

. Development and operation of the app involves Zoe Global Limited (now Zoe Limited), a nutrition advice company co-founded by Spector in 2017. Spector became the public face of the study, releasing periodic summaries via

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

from June 2020 onwards.

Selected publications

* * * * *

References

External links

Official website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spector, Tim 1958 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Academics of King's College London British epidemiologists British geneticists British science writers Diet food advocates Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Food policy in the United Kingdom Genetic epidemiologists High-fiber diet advocates NIHR Senior Investigators Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at University College School Plant-based diet advocates British population geneticists