News
Viewpoint: Unhealthy food needs prominent warning labels
October 11, 2020The United States should require prominent warning labels on the front of product packaging to alert consumers when food products contain high levels of unhealthy nutrients, according to an October 1 2020 JAMA Viewpoint article. The piece, coauthored by Faculty Fellow Marissa Hall, details how five countries (Chile, Israel, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay) have passed legislation…
Muscatell awarded Young Investigator Grant
September 23, 2020September 23, 2020 Assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience Keely Muscatell’s research addresses the topic of how race-related stress affects the brain among Black Americans with schizophrenia. Keely Muscatell Keely Muscatell, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, has been awarded a prestigious Young Investigator Grant from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. The grants, awarded…
Obesity linked with higher risk for COVID-19 complications
September 1, 2020A review of COVID-19 studies reveals a troubling connection between two health crises: coronavirus and obesity. From COVID-19 risk to recovery, the odds are stacked against those with obesity, and a new study led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and carried out in collaboration with the Saudi Health Council and the…
FAQ: Changes in the amount of nutrient of packaged foods and beverages after the initial implementation of the Chilean Law of Food Labelling and Advertising
July 28, 2020Read related news article. FAQs for “Changes in the amount of nutrient of packaged foods and beverages after the initial implementation of the Chilean Law of Food Labelling and Advertising: a nonexperimental prospective study,” which was published in PLOS Medicine July 28, 2020. Who are the UNC authors of this study? UNC Gillings School of…
In response to nutrition warning labels, manufacturers reformulate unhealthy foods
July 28, 2020[caption id="attachment_36522" align="alignright" width="225"] Lindsey Smith Taillie[/caption] Read related FAQ. Mandatory nutrition warning labels on packaged junk foods may lead manufactures to reformulate their products with less sodium and sugar, exposing consumers to fewer harmful nutrients in their diets. In new research published in PLOS Medicine, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel…
Meet the Carolina Population Center Faculty Fellows elected in 2020
July 21, 2020The Carolina Population Center's Faculty Fellows elected four UNC faculty members to join the CPC Fellows program in 2020. There are now 71 Fellows who sit across 16 academic departments. Marissa Hall is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior. She uses behavioral science to inform policies to prevent cancer and other chronic…
Seed grants awarded to Fellows Parcesepe and Ng
June 28, 2020In June, Fellows Angela Parcesepe and Shu Wen Ng were each awarded seed grants to investigate the impacts of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic on US families. Parcesepe's mixed method study aims to generate knowledge and advance understanding of the impact of COVID-related work and family arrangements on maternal mental health in U.S. during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic…
Large collaboration explores social determinants of health in humans and other social mammals
May 22, 2020Humans are highly social animals; we require connections with others. Social adversity is closely linked in health and mortality outcomes, and much research over the past decade has revealed that the social environment we live in, both in the earliest parts of life and later on in adulthood, is one of the strongest predictor of…
Adults in Mexico are consuming fewer soft drinks three years into a sugary-beverage tax
May 6, 2020Three years after Mexico implemented a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, the country’s adults are consuming fewer soft drinks, according to new findings from an international team of researchers. The team examined the self-reported soft-drink intake of participants in the three phases of Mexico’s Health Workers Cohort Study — a self-administered survey on health and lifestyle…
Who gets admitted to medical education in low- and middle-income countries — and why does it matter?
April 7, 2020Recent studies have found that doctors and nurses in low- and middle-income countries are often absent from work, sometimes seek unauthorized payments for services, and may treat patients in disrespectful or abusive ways. A recent commentary in Human Resources for Health points out that while improving work environments might help the overall situation, that solution…