Shu Wen Ng
GFRP Co-director, Carolina Population Center Faculty Fellow, and Professor, Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health
Shu Wen Ng is a professor in the Department of Nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Trained as a health economist, she is interested in studying the role of dietary change and shifts in physical activity patterns in weight gain among those experiencing rapid economic and social change. Her work involves investigated the design and use of food pricing policies and food assistance programs to encourage healthier food offerings, purchases and dietary consumption while narrowing disparities and inequities. On the Global Food Research Program, Shu Wen leads studies that use commercial food purchase, food sales data and Nutrition Facts Panel data, as well as publicly available household income-expenditure, price and census data. Shu Wen has extensive modeling experience with multi-level and instrumental variable models, survival analysis/ hazard modeling, propensity scoring, time-series and dynamic panel estimation analyses. She teaches National Nutrition Policy.
When I’m in a time crunch, I love to make… avocado soup! Puree 3-4 ripe avocados with ~1 cup skim milk (adjust based on preference), dash of cayenne & black pepper, hint of salt, and juice of ½ a lime. Top with cooked shrimp and/or cilantro for garnish, and voila! Best if made a few hours ahead, chilled and served cold (great on a hot summer day!)
The craziest thing I’ve ever eaten is… fried tarantula (in Cambodia)
After a good workout, nothing beats… a glass of cold chocolate almond milk.
GFRP Publications
Equity-driven fiscal policies: taxing ultra-processed products and subsidizing minimally processed foods
Authors: Paula Carvalho Pereda, Maria Alice Moz-Christofoletti, Ana Clara Duran, Maria Laura da Costa Louzada, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: Food Policy, July 14, 2024 view full text
Front-of-package ultraprocessed warning labels: a randomized controlled trial with Chilean parent
Authors: Aline D'Angelo Campos, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Marissa G. Hall, Shu Wen Ng, Natalia Rebolledo
Published in: Frontiers in Nutrition, November 1, 2026 view full text
Novel approaches for identifying unhealthy food and beverages for policy: a cross-sectional study of purchases of packaged products in Latin America
Authors: Lilia S. Pedraza, Elizabeth K. Dunford, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Shu Wen Ng, Donna R. Miles, Camila Zancheta, Francisco Diez-Canseco, Barry Popkin
Published in: The Lancet, Regional Health Americas, October 1, 2026 view full text
"I don't have to choose between everything”: Self-reported fruit and vegetable affordability, purchasing shifts, and healthcare utilization among produce prescription program participants in North Carolina
Authors: Allie Reimold, Jessica Ostrowski, Amy Shi-nan Feng, Emile Charles, David Smith, Mamie Harris, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: Preventive Medicine Reports, September 25, 2026 view full text
Re-balancing power and profit: Fiscal measures for healthier and sustainable food systems
Authors: Tailane Scapin, Kathleen Konopka, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: One Earth, August 21, 2026 view full text
Beverage intake among Jamaican School Children: An analysis across child and school environment levels
Authors: Emile Charles, Suzanne Soares-Wynter, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: PLOS One, August 3, 2026 view full text
Integrating Policies that Enable Minimally Processed Foods with Policies that Restrict Ultra-Processed Foods for Obesity and Noncommunicable Disease Prevention
Authors: Jonathan Lara-Arevalo, Shu Wen Ng, Melissa L. Jensen, Isabel Barbosa, Valentina Castagnari, Fernanda Mediano Stoltze, Elizabeth Orlan, Nadia Flexner, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Current Obesity Reports, July 11 2026 view full text
Cross-Sector Policies for Achieving Equitable Obesity Prevention and Food Security: A Review of Real-World Actions
Authors: Christina Zorbas, Sally Schultz, Shu Wen Ng, Erica Reeve, Ayuba Issaka, Chioma Anidi, Kathryn Backholer
Published in: Current Obesity Reports, July 10, 2026 view full text
Factors Influencing Water and Sweet Beverage Purchasing Decisions and Behaviours Among Low-Income Households in Four Peri-Urban Communities in Accra: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Christopher Delali Amegah, Gloria Adobea Odei Obeng-Amoako, Shu Wen Ng, Monica Lambon-Quayefio, Seth Adu-Afarwuah
Published in: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, June 15, 2026 view full text
Adoption and Acceptability of a Fruit and Vegetable Subsidy in Low-Income Households in Urban Chile: The Bolsillo Saludable Pilot Feasibility Study
Authors: Isabel Pemjean, Daniela Montes de Oca, Jonathan Lara-Arevalo, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Camila Corvalan
Published in: Current Developments in Nutrition, June 13, 2026 view full text
Timing Matters: How Unconditional Cash Transfer Frequency Shapes Dietary Choices Among Vulnerable Older Adults
Authors: Deivis Nicolas Guzman-Tordecilla, Antonio Trujillo, Andres Vecino-Ortiz, Shu Wen Ng.
Published in: Health Economics, June 6, 2026. view full text
Did Increases in SNAP Benefits from the Emergency Allotments and Thrifty Food Plan Modernization Shift Grocery Purchase Quality in North Carolina?
Authors: Alexandra Ross, Shuwen Ng
Published in: American Journal of Preventative Medicine. May 1, 2026 view full text
Changes in sales of packaged food and beverages, energy, and nutrients after the implementation of front-of-pack warning labels in Mexico
Authors: Adriana Garduno-Alanis, Juan Carlos Salgado, Alejandra Contreras-Manzano, Tania Aburto, Luis Moreno-Aguilar, Shuwen Ng, Simon Barquera
Published in: Social Science and Medicine, March 21, 2026 view full text
Beyond added sugar reduction: A narrative review of policies to address non-sugar sweeteners
Authors: JW Krieger, JN Davis, SW Ng, M Nguyen, A Zimova, VE Hedrick, VS Malik, L Smith Taillie, AC Sylvetsky, J Falbe.
Published in: Journal of Nutrition, March 18, 2026 view full text
Can cash improve diet quality in old age? evidence from a large-scale unconditional transfer
Authors: Devis Nicolas Guzman-Tordecilla, Antonio Trujillo, Shu Wen Ng, Andres Vecino-Ortiz.
Published in: World Development, February 22, 2026 view full text
Did Increases in SNAP Benefits from the Emergency Allotments and Thrifty Food Plan Modernization Shift Grocery Purchase Quality in North Carolina?
Authors: Alexandra Ross, Shuwen Ng
Published in: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, December 23, 2025 view full text
Firm’s responses to food policies to reduce consumption of ultra-processed food and beverages: lessons from the existing evidence
Authors: Juan Carlos Salgado, Bhairavi Jayaraman, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: Food Policy, October 31, 2025 view full text
Healthy Food Voucher Programs: Global Evidence on Structure, Implementation, and Nutrition-Related Outcomes
Authors: Jonathan Lara-Arevalo, Camila Corvalán, Isabel Pemjean, Daniela Montes de Oca, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Advances in Nutrition, October 1, 2025 view full text
Working towards affordable healthy diets: a review on innovations in food price monitoring, policy and research in Australia and beyond
Authors: Carmen Vargas, Kathryn Backholer, Rebecca Bennett, Rahul Maganti, Meron Lewis, Josephine Marshall, Gary Sacks, Laura Alston, Adyya Gupta, Cindy Needham, Oliver Huse, Shuwen Ng, Christina Zorbas
Published in: Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, September 5, 2025 view full text
Evaluation of caffeinated beverages sold in a national sample of U.S. middle and high schools
Authors: Leah Elizabeth Chapman, Erin Hager, Shu Wen Ng, Nan Dou, Juliana Cohen
Published in: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, July 3, 2025 view full text