Rampant in-store marketing for unhealthy snacks in South African supermarkets underscores need for regulation

A new study published in Public Health Nutrition  examining the snack food environment in South African supermarkets reveals that ultra-processed, high-sugar, and high-sodium snacks are overwhelmingly available and aggressively marketed to consumers. Conducted by researchers at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this […]

Student spotlight: Mafe Parra

Leaving behind her home country of Colombia, Mafe Parra embarks on a new academic endeavor to shape the future of public health as a doctoral student in the Department of Health Behavior at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. She joins the Global Food Research Program (GFRP) this fall under the advisership of […]

Student Spotlight: Carmen Prestemon

Carmen Prestemon is eager to impact public health by advancing nutrition policy as a doctoral student in the Nutrition Department at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. Carmen first joined the Global Food Research Program (GFRP) as an undergraduate research assistant, launching her path into nutrition policy research, and will now be continuing […]

Student spotlight: Carolyn Chelius

Passion to empower communities by improving dietary health is what fuels Carolyn Chelius, a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Health Behavior at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. She recently joined the Global Food Research Program (GFRP) under the advisership of GFRP faculty Shu Wen Ng and Marissa Hall. Carolyn will […]

2024 FERN fellows

The close of summer also marks the end of GFRP’s third year of the Fellowship for Exploring Research in Nutrition (FERN), a 9-week research internship for undergraduate students interested in food policy research. Over the course of the summer, the fellows built foundational research skills, attended professional development workshops, participated in GFRP team activities, assisted […]