Despite extensive product reformulation after Chile began requiring warning labels on the front of less-healthy food and drink packages, Chilean consumers saw no significant change in food and beverage prices associated with the policy in the first year and a half. This was the main finding of a new study from researchers at Universidad Adolfo […]
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Children in Chile saw 73% fewer TV ads for unhealthy foods and drinks following trailblazing marketing restrictions
Chilean policies aimed at reining in unhealthy food marketing are succeeding in protecting children from the onslaught of television advertisements (TV ads) for these products, according to new research. The country’s multi-phased regulations, which began in 2016, have led to a 73% drop in children’s exposure to TV ads for regulated foods and drinks (those […]
Beverage industry ad spend and airtimes in South Africa
A new study published in the Journal of Public Health Research has found that in South Africa, sugar-sweetened beverage manufacturers spent USD 191 million (ZAR 3.7 billion) advertising SSBs across different media from 2013 to 2019. The bulk of this was spent on television (TV) advertising, particularly during children’s and family viewing times. Researchers from […]
Taillie and Ammerman receive EPA grant to prevent household food waste
Lindsey Smith Taillie, Global Health Research Program faculty and UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) research fellow, and Alice Ammerman, HPDP director and Mildred Kaufman Distinguished Professor of nutrition, have been awarded a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to research ways to help households better prevent food waste. The project […]
Doctoral students from Mexico tackle taxes and cartoon characters in an effort to fight obesity
The opportunity to make a broad impact on food policy is what drives both Claudia Nieto and Gabriela García, two PhD students from Mexico who are visiting scholars at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Global Food Research Program (GFRP) this year. Both Claudia and Gabriela are students at GFRP’s research partner National Institute of Public Health (INSP, Instituto […]
Over half of foods and beverages purchased by Americans contain technical food additives — a 10% increase since 2001
A new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has found that 60% of foods purchased by Americans contain technical food additives such as coloring or flavoring agents, preservatives, or sweeteners. This represents a 10% increase since 2001. Manufacturers have also increased the average number of additives in purchased food and […]
After Chile’s labeling and marketing law, drink purchases contained less sugar and more non-nutritive sweeteners, but overall sweetness stayed the same
Two recent studies conducted by researchers from the Global Food Research Program at UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of Chile have found that in the first phase of Chile’s Law of Food Labeling and Advertising, consumers’ beverage purchases contained less sugar and more non-nutritive sweeteners (e.g., Aspartame, Stevia, or Sucralose), but overall beverage sweetness stayed […]
Peru’s healthy food and beverage policies found to have no negative impact on industry jobs, wages
A new study published this month in the journal Food Policy finds that Peru’s food and beverage industry experienced no significant job or wage losses after the country began taxing sugary drinks and putting warning labels on the front of unhealthy food and beverage packages prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Peruvian government implemented these […]
More evidence that pandemic-era Healthy Helping program improved diet quality for North Carolinians with food insecurity
A new study published today in the November issue of Health Affairs underscores the positive impact of the Healthy Helping produce prescription program that provided North Carolinians facing food insecurity with $40 a month to spend on fruits and vegetables during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and […]
Popkin delivers keynote addresses to the German Obesity Society, NICHD Global Health Conference
On Thursday, Oct. 6, Barry Popkin, PhD, W. R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, delivered a keynote address at the 38th Annual Meeting of the German Obesity Society. In his talk entitled Large-scale regulatory and fiscal policies for tackling obesity and creating healthier diets,he spoke […]
Popkin urges FDA to adopt front-of-package warning labels
On Thursday, Sept. 29, Dr. Barry Popkin testified at a special U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public meeting in support of policies to improve the American diet and diet-related diseases. He joined six other consumer, research, government, and industry representatives who were invited to comment before an Independent Expert Panel as part of an […]
Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity: Application opens for 2023 fellowships
UNC-Chapel Hill is accepting applications for the Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity (CPPFD). The program aims to develop and support scholars from different backgrounds, with potential advancement to tenure-track faculty appointments at UNC or other research universities. Research appointments start July 1, 2023 and last two years. During that time, scholars will engage in full-time […]
Nutrient warning labels work in South Africa: Results from a randomized controlled trial
A new study from South Africa comparing three different front-of-package (FOP) labeling schemes found that a nutrient warning label helped more participants correctly identify unhealthy products and more strongly reduced their intention to purchase those products, compared to a “multiple traffic light” label and a Guideline Daily Amounts label. These findings, published in Appetite, come […]
Healthy Helping program made fruits and vegetables affordable for North Carolinians during the COVID-19 pandemic
Low-income North Carolinians who received a monthly fruit and vegetable benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic enjoyed the flexibility to choose more and a greater variety of nutritious foods during a time of profound food insecurity, according to a new study in the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. Researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill interviewed participants in […]
GFRP submission to the 2022 WHO Consultation on policy guidelines to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing
The Global Food Research Program recently contributed comments to the World Health Organization (WHO) draft guideline on policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing. Children worldwide are exposed every day to food marketing where they live, learn, and play — on TV, in and around their schools, at sporting events, in […]
Meet the 2022 FERN fellows
Last week marked the end of the GFRP’s inaugural Fellowship for Exploring Research in Nutrition (FERN), a 10-week summer research internship for undergraduate students interested in food policy research. In spring, we welcomed outstanding students Emerald Izuakor from UNC-Chapel Hill, Tiffany Williams from NC State University, and Sydni Wright from UNC Charlotte. Over the course […]
Increased WIC cash vouchers for fruits & vegetables have helped families eat healthier during COVID-19
Many U.S. families faced new or additional challenges to finding and paying for food during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these are over 6 million women and young children who participate in the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides nutrition education, supplemental foods, breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals […]
Changes to nutrition assistance programs during COVID-19: Impacts and implications for future policy
A new health policy brief from Health Affairs, titled “COVID-19 Pandemic-Era Nutrition Assistance: Impact And Sustainability,” joins Health Affairs’ ongoing series of policy briefs on the social determinants of health. Its authors, including Global Food Research Program faculty Shu Wen Ng write that COVID-19 became “a stress test” for the ability of the United States to feed those in […]
Health, environmental messages boost Meatless Monday campaign
Messages that emphasize the health and environmental benefits of participating in Meatless Monday are an effective way to encourage people to eat less meat, according to new findings from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Meatless Monday, launched by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2003, is a campaign that […]
Nutrition claims on sugary fruit drinks can lead to less healthy choices for children, new study finds
Parents are more likely to choose a fruit drink with added sugar for their young child when the drink’s packaging includes nutrition-related claims, researchers with the Global Food Research Program found in a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This study is among the first to look at how claims influence parents’ […]