News
Using Collaboration to Fight a Tricky Tick-Borne Disease
January 17, 2023
Falling birth rate not due to less desire to have children
January 12, 2023For many parents or would-be parents, the “right time” to have a child may feel increasingly out of reach Birth rates are falling in the United States, but it isn’t because Americans say they want fewer kids. In fact, young … Read more

Lessler publishes new study in Science Advances
May 2, 2022Faculty Fellow Justin Lessler, PhD is co-author of a new study published in Science Advances on “In-person schooling and associated COVID-19 risk in the United States over spring semester 2021.” Because of the importance of schools to childhood development, the … Read more
UNC’s New Vice Chancellor, Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen
April 6, 2022Professor Penny Gordon-Larsen was appointed interim vice chancellor for research on March 14, 2022. She previously served as the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Healthʼs associate dean for research, a position she held since September 2018. In that role, … Read more

Consensus statement on definition and diagnosis of sarcopenic obesity published
March 7, 2022A consensus statement on the definition and diagnosis of sarcopenic obesity was released by the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), and simultaneously published in Clinical Nutrition. Faculty … Read more

Remarks from John Batsis on behalf of AGS
March 7, 2022Faculty Fellow John Batsis MD served as the American Geriatrics Society representative on the Obesity and Equitable Aging Roundtable held by the National Council on Aging Roundtable last October. Last month, the National Council on Aging held a virtual meeting … Read more
Picture warnings on sodas? A promising tool to fight childhood obesity
February 1, 2022The findings are promising: The warnings reduced parental purchases of sugary drinks for their kids by 17 percentage points.

Produce prescriptions can save money. New project asks how much?
January 4, 2022A new project will be exploring the benefits of food prescription programs, which provide a monthly electronic benefit for participants to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. In early studies, this type of intervention has been shown to improve health outcomes. … Read more

Preventing malaria after heavy flooding incidents
September 9, 2021As temperatures grow warmer around the globe, we’ve witnessed an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Nearly half of the global disasters over the past two decades have been caused by extreme precipitation and flooding, including … Read more

New study shows reduction of unhealthy food purchases from package of healthy food policies in Chile
August 12, 2021A recently published study in The Lancet Planetary Health shows that Chile’s package of healthy food policies successfully reduced purchases of unhealthy food and drinks during the first phase of the law’s implementation. Researchers from the University of Chile, University … Read more