Shu Wen Ng
Professor, Department of Nutrition at the UNC 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
Promoting healthier purchases: ultra-processed food taxes and minimally-processed food subsidies for the low income.
Authors: Pourya Valizadeh, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: American Journal of Preventative Medicine, April 2, 2024 view full text
How promising are "ultra-processed" front-of-package labels? A formative study with U.S. adults.
Authors: Aline D'angelo Campos, Shu Wen Ng, Katherine McNeel, Marissa Hall
Published in: Nutrients, April 6, 2024 view full text
Impact of the Philadelphia beverage tax on perceived beverage healthfulness, tax awareness and tax opinions.
Authors: Caitlin Lowery, Christina Roberto, Sophia Hua, Sara Bleich, Nandita Mitra, Hannah Lawman, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Shu Wen Ng, Laura Gibson
Published in: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, March 9, 2024 view full text
Trends in sugar from package foods and beverages purchased by U.S. households between 2002 and 2020.
Authors: Gabriela Vatavuk-Serrati, Sarah Frank, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published In: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, October 25, 2023 view full text
Beverage industry’s advertising expenditures and airtimes in South Africa from 2013 to 2019 target children and families
Authors: Micheal Kofi Boachie, Susan Goldstein, Petronell Kruger, Shu Wen Ng, Karen J. Hofman, Evelyn Thsehla
Published in: Journal of Public Health Research, April 24, 2023 view full text
Changes in sugar-sweetened beverage purchases across the price distribution after the implementation of a tax in Mexico: a before-and-after analysis
Authors: Juan Carlos Salgado Hernández, Shu Wen Ng, M. Arantxa Colchero
Published in: BMC Public Health, February 7, 2023 view full text
Sweetener purchases in Chile before and after implementing a policy for food labeling, marketing, and sales in schools
Authors: Natalia Rebolledo, Maxime Bercholz, Linda Adair, Camila Corvalán, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Current Developments in Nutrition, December 23, 2022
view full text
Grocery purchase changes were associated with a North Carolina COVID food assistance incentive program
Authors: Caitlin M. Lowery, Richard Henderson, Neal Curran, Sam Hoeffler, Molly DeMarco, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: Health Affairs, November 7, 2022 view full text
Did the sweetness of beverages change with the Chilean Food Labeling and Marketing Law? A before and after study
Authors: Natalia Rebolledo, Maxime Bercholz, Camila Corvalán, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Frontiers in Nutrition, October 28, 2022 view full text
Simulation models of sugary drink policies: A scoping review
Authors: Natalie Riva Smith, Anna H. Grummon, Shu Wen Ng, Sarah Towner Wright, Leah Frerichs
Published in: PLOS ONE, October 3, 2022 view full text
Effect of different front-of-package food labels on identification of unhealthy products and intention to purchase the products – A randomised controlled trial in South Africa
Authors: Makoma Bopape, Jeroen De Man, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Shu Wen Ng, Nandita Murukutla, Rina Swart
Published in: Appetite, August 24, 2022 (online ahead of print) view full text
Prevalence and demographic correlates of online grocery shopping: results from a nationally representative survey during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Emily W. Duffy, Amy Lo, Marissa G. Hall, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: Public Health Nutrition, August 19, 2022 view full text
Did A Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program Support low-income Households in North Carolina during the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Mixed Methods Assessment of the Healthy Helping Program and Other Pandemic-Related Food Assistance
Authors: Isabel Lu, Brett Sheppard, Shu Wen Ng, Sarah Burstein, Emile Charles, Taylor Williams
and Molly De Marco
Published in: Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, August 7, 2022 view full text
"I think that's the most beneficial change that the WIC has made in a really long time": Perceptions and awareness of an increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit
Authors: Emily W. Duffy, Daniele A. Vest, Cassandra R. Davis, Marissa G. Hall, Molly De Marco, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, July 16, 2022 view full text
COVID-19 pandemic-era nutrition assistance: Impact and sustainability
Authors: Caitlin Caspi, Hilary Seligman, Jerica Berge, Shu Wen Ng, James Krieger
Published in: Health Affairs, May 5, 2022 view full text
Decomposing consumer and producer effects on sugar from beverage purchases after a sugar-based tax on beverages in South Africa
Authors: Maxime Bercholz, Shu Wen Ng, Nicholas Stacey, Elizabeth C. Swart
Published in: Economics & Human Biology, March 21, 2022 view full text
South Africa’s Health Promotion Levy on pricing and acquisition of beverages in local spazas and supermarkets
Authors: Alexandra Ross, Elizabeth C. Swart, Tamryn Frank, Caitlin M. Lowery, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: Public Health Nutrition, March 7, 2022 view full text
Applying and comparing various nutrient profiling models against the packaged food supply in South Africa
Authors: Tamryn Frank, Shu Wen Ng, Donna R. Miles, Elizabeth C. Swart
Published in: Public Health Nutrition, February 16, 2022 view full text
Changes in nonnutritive sweetener intake in a cohort of preschoolers after the implementation of Chile's Law of Food Labelling and Advertising
Authors: Natalia Rebolledo, Marcela Reyes, Barry M. Popkin, Linda Adair, Christy L. Avery, Camila Corvalán, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Pediatric Obesity, January 27, 2022 view full text
Whole grain and refined grains: An examination of US household grocery store purchases
Authors: Elizabeth K. Dunford, Donna R. Miles, Barry M. Popkin, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: The Journal of Nutrition, October 28, 2021 view full text