Food, nutrition and health

Research groups

• Promoting health in the first 2000 days of life

  Group leader: Associate Professor Rachel Laws and Dr Paige van der Pligt

  Group members: Professor Kylie Hesketh, Associate Professor Kristy Bolton, Associate Professor Ewa Szymlek-Gay, Dr Alissa Burnett, Dr Katherine Downing, Dr Carley Grimes, Dr Konsita Kuswara, Dr Katie Lacy, Dr Tracey Lee, Dr Rebecca Lindberg, Dr Penny Love, Dr Jennifer McCann, Dr Georgie Russell, Dr Susan Paudel, Dr Alison Spence, Dr Jazzmin Zheng

  The Promoting health in the first 2000 days of life group focuses on research to optimise nutrition and movement behaviours (physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep) from preconception to age  five years. We work to describe what and how parents and ‘parents to be’ and their children eat and move, how this influences their health, where they gain their information and support, and how we can most effectively and sustainably work with them to promote healthy behaviours in the early childhood period.

  Our research aims to understand these issues across low and high resource countries, and countries in transition. Our group has expertise across epidemiology, nutrition and dietetics, human movement and sports science, psychology, health behaviour change interventions, the  use of m-health to support behaviour change, public health, implementation science, research translation and intervention scale up.

  This group covers:

  • Understanding the role of over-nutrition, undernutrition and movement behaviours in maternal and child health, and the developmental origins of disease
  • Assessment of diet, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour in the pregnancy and early childhood period
  • Monitoring and optimising micronutrient intakes and their impact on maternal and child health

  • Improving functional outcomes in children under five years through optimised nutrition and movement

  • Developing and testing interventions related to healthy eating and movement behaviours and healthy weight before, during  and after pregnancy
  • Working with families, health practitioners and communities to support parents to achieve the best nutrition and movement behaviours for themselves and their infants across a child’s first 2000 days of life and beyond
  • Translating research into practice to achieve sustained implementation of early years interventions within a range of settings (e.g., health services, local governments, childcare, early childhood education and schools).
• School food and nutrition

  Group leader: Associate Professor Alison Booth and Dr Claire Margerison

  Group members: Associate Professor Kristy Bolton, Dr Carley Grimes, Dr Katie Lacy, Dr Penny Love, Dr Janandani Nanayakkara, Dr Claudia Strugnell

  The School food and nutrition group focuses on food and nutrition education in primary and secondary schools and the food environment in these settings. We use qualitative and quantitative solutions-focused research to examine food and nutrition issues through the eyes of school staff, principals, teachers, parents and students.

  Our group has expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods. We are a team of culturally-diverse, highly experienced public health, nutrition and dietetics academics, early career researchers and PhD candidates.

  This group covers:

  • Determining the role of the school food environment on individual food practices
  • Understanding school food and nutrition teacher education and professional development needs
  • Designing and delivering sustainable teacher food and nutrition professional development programs to support and enhance the practice of educators
  • Assessing teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in teaching secondary school food and nutrition
  • Exploring different approaches to food literacy education practices and outcomes in schools
  • Understanding school food and nutrition curriculum content
  • Understanding how food and nutrition education is delivered in schools including use of resources
  • Exploring how school food environment aligns with food and nutrition education delivery
  • Understanding and improving the school food and nutrition environment including food provision, lunch duration, school food policy and governance and use of food gardens
  • Exploring food system stakeholders’ perceptions of secondary school food literacy education.

  We work with a number of organisations such as VCAA, HEV as well as national and international academic experts in the field.

• Nutrients and health

  Group leader: Dr Carley Grimes

  Group members: Professor Lucinda Black, Professor Judi Porter, Associate Professor Kristy Bolton, Associate Professor Ewa Szymlek-Gay, Associate Professor Michael Tieland, Associate Professor Susan Torres, Dr Ellie Dunlop, Dr Claire Margerison, Dr Sze-Yen Tan

  The Nutrients and health group focuses on understanding the influence of nutrient intake on growth, metabolism, and physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan, in order to design effective and sustainable strategies to improve health. Our group has expertise in dietary assessment methods, nutritional biomarkers, nutritional epidemiology, clinical trials and interventions.

  Our research includes the assessment of dietary intake to characterise nutrient intakes and nutritional status of different population groups across the lifespan, as well as exploring determinants of nutrient intake to design and evaluate strategies to improve diets.  Our group also conducts interventions to alter nutrient intakes to assess effects on health outcomes, ranging from laboratory-based clinical trials to community-based interventions.

  This group covers:

  • Investigating the intake and status of micronutrients across the lifespan, in particular iron, selenium, zinc, iodine, sodium (salt), vitamin D and vitamin A
  • Investigating the effects of macronutrients on human energy intake and expenditure, and their impact on body weight, body composition and metabolic health
  • Monitoring the availability of macronutrients and micronutrients within the food supply and population intakes
  • Exploring the relationship between nutrients and health outcomes such as growth, cognition, mental health, cardiovascular health, obesity and neurological disorders
  • Monitoring salt intakes and developing interventions to help children and adults reduce salt intake to improve future health
  • Designing and evaluating interventions to improve micronutrient intakes and related health outcomes.
• Dietary patterns and eating behaviours

  Group leader: Dr Rebecca Leech and Dr Georgie Russell

  Group members: Professor Lucinda Black, Dr Barbara Brayner, Dr Alissa Burnett, Dr Suzanne Dixon-Suen, Dr Ellie Dunlop, Dr Elena George, Dr Rebecca Lindberg, Dr Katherine Livingstone, Dr Priscila Pereira Machado, Dr Claire Margerison, Dr Catherine Milte, Dr Sze-Yen Tan, Dr Teketo Tegegne, Dr Kate Wingrove

  The Dietary patterns and eating behaviours group focuses on understanding and characterising contemporary diets, their impact on population and planetary health and potential determinants, including eating behaviours, food insecurity and other biopsychosocial factors. We consider dietary intake across the continuum from nutrients to foods to eating occasions (e.g. meals and snacks), along with dietary patterns, and the range of factors that affect them.

  Our research draws on principles of nutritional and behavioural epidemiology and uses quantitative and qualitative methods. Our group examines population dietary intakes and human and planetary health relationships with a focus on food-based approaches, such as dietary patterns, as an alternative to focusing on individual food components.  We generate evidence on eating behaviours and other factors as determinants of dietary patterns, to inform nutrition interventions promotion strategies.

  Our group works with relevant partners to facilitate research translation, and provides evidence to inform policy and practice, particularly focusing on strengthening the use of epidemiological research by stakeholders.

  This group covers:

  • Developing novel methods for measuring and interpreting population dietary patterns and eating behaviours
  • Understanding the role of foods, dietary patterns and eating behaviours in human and planetary health
  • Examining dietary patterns and eating behaviours, and their relationships and interactions with biological, social, and environmental factors.
  • Understanding food and nutrition literacy and food insecurity as determinants of eating behaviours and dietary patterns to assist people to promote healthy and sustainable dietary patterns.
• Healthy and sustainable food systems

  Group leader: Professor Mark Lawrence

  Group members: Associate Professor Shariful Islam, Dr Ellie Dunlop, Dr Rebecca Lindberg, Dr Penny Love, Dr Priscila Pereira Machado, Dr Claire Margerison, Dr Jennifer McCann, Dr Tolassa Ushula, Dr Kate Wingrove

  The Healthy and sustainable food systems group focuses on investigating and informing innovative nutrition policy reference standards and actions that promote healthy, sustainable and equitable food systems. Our group is transdisciplinary with expertise in nutrition science, public health nutrition, ecological nutrition, health promotion, dietetics, political science, food regulation and sociology.

  To address the complex nature of today’s food and nutrition challenges, our research extends beyond a conventional nutrient-orientated approach to encompass foods, dietary patterns and food systems thinking.

  We use qualitative and quantitative research methods and undertake modelling of the health and environmental impacts of food systems. We also undertake critical analysis of policy-making associated with:

  • Dietary guidelines
  • Food and nutrition security
  • Ultra-processed foods
  • Food fortification
  • Food labelling
  • Infant formula and toddler foods and drinks
  • Nutrient reference values
  • Preventing undernutrition, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases.

  We work with a number of leading agencies including the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, Cochrane Nutrition Collaboration, International Union of Nutrition Sciences, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, VicHealth and the Federal and State governments.

  This group covers:

  • Understanding the science and politics of food and nutrition policy-making and policy actions
  • Informing policies to achieve healthy, sustainable and equitable food systems
  • Modelling and evaluating the public health implications and impacts of food and nutrition policy activities
  • Influencing food and nutrition policy and policy actions