The Great Manchester Health Experiment is a success

The Great Manchester Health Experiment is a success

On Wednesday September 14, a world-first took place in Manchester, when MAHSC held an experiment to reflect the mood of the city’s population. Based on the scientifically evaluated Manchester Colour Wheel, developed by Professor Peter Whorwell and Dr Helen Carruthers of The University of Manchester, the experiment asked people to register their mood by selecting the colour that best represented how they were feeling at 9am. Then, after being encouraged to do an activity known to improve well-being, they repeated the exercise at 3pm. These responses were then turned into a multi-coloured head on the BBC screen in Exchange Square, helping us to capture the mood and face of the city.

Early indications suggest that, in spite of the wind and the rain, Manchester got happier as the day progressed. The question everyone seemed to be asking was ‘what is Manchester’s favourite colour?’ In the morning it was purple, and in the afternoon it had changed to bright yellow. Researchers are looking at the findings in greater depth, and will publish the results shortly. 

Professor Ian Jacobs, Director of MAHSC and Dean of the University’s Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, said "This was a fun day with a serious message. Parts of Greater Manchester have the worst life expectancy rates in the country, but the city also has some of the best medical and scientific researchers in the world working at The University of Manchester and our MAHSC partners within the NHS. But we need to engage with the people of Greater Manchester if we are going to turn scientific discoveries in our laboratories into the medicines of the future to help cure diseases, like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, and generally improve the health of the population of Greater Manchester and the rest of the country.”

Schools played a big part in the Experiment, and we recruited a new generation of citizen scientists, who now understand the importance of MAHSC and its partners as we work to improve the health of people, families and communities. MAHSC also gained the support of celebrities on Twitter, including Joan Collins, Miss Manchester and Manchester United and Manchester City players. The national and regional media picked up the story, and interesting debate was sparked on various current affairs shows including BBC
Radio 4’s flagship ‘PM’ and BBC Radio 5 Live, as well as BBC North West Tonight, Key 103 and BBC Radio Manchester. 

Musicians, dancers and artists are all currently working on contributions based on the findings, and they will join the researchers in presenting their work before an invited audience on Wednesday December 9 at a special event at MediaCity:UK. To find out more, please go to www.manchesterexperiment.org.uk.