Instructor

Margaret is currently Chair of SENSE for self -employed nutritionists; she is the immediate Past President of the Association for Nutrition. She has been a Research Scientist with the Medical Research Council, Principal of the Good Housekeeping Institute, Science Director of the British Nutrition Foundation and, for 30 years, Director of Ashwell Associates, a nutrition science consultancy.

Most of Margaret’s research career has been in the effect of fat distribution on health. In 1996, she was the first to advocate the waist-to-height ratio as a warning of early health risk and promote the simple message: "Keep your waist to less than half your height". This message was eventually adopted in the 2025 guidelines from NICE. Primary screening, then, only requires a piece of string. Margaret served on the UK Government’s Food Advisory Committee for 9 years and was rewarded with the OBE. She has received Honorary Doctorates from two Universities and has received two Lifetime Achievement Awards. Margaret lives in the lovely village of Ashwell in North Hertfordshire and her passions are playing golf and, for her sins, supporting Southampton FC.