Feb 3, 2022  |  4:00pm - 5:00pm
Lecture

Faculty Seminar: Dr. Mary L'Abbé

Dr. Mary L’Abbé, CM, PhD 

Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, and 

Director, WHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Policy for Chronic Disease Prevention 

Title:  Research on Food and Nutrition Policy for Population Health 

Abstract: 
 
In Canada, 88% of all deaths are due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), a situation similar to that in many countries.  An unhealthy diet is one of the major preventable risk factors for most NCDs including cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and some cancers. In recent years the policy and regulatory focus has shifted from one in which responsibility rests with the consumer to ‘make healthy food choices’ to one that recognizes the importance of the food environment and how multi-sector actions can improve food environments to ‘make the healthy choice the easy choice’.  My lab group conducts research to provide an evidence base to support public health nutrition policy in Canada and globally, in areas such as the nutritional quality of packaged and restaurant foods, children’s marketing, front-of-pack labelling, menu labelling, food pricing etc. Studies are conducted using a variety of research approaches: (i) consumer surveys on knowledge, attitudes and behaviours; (ii) randomized, controlled experiments among consumers and children using commercially designed custom food packages; (iii) examining the nutritional quality of Canadian foods; (vi) developing and testing nutrition computer and mobile apps among consumers; (v) developing methods for assessing and modelling population intakes using analyses of national food consumption and other national surveys; (vi) assessing the health impact of proposed policies on the health of Canadians; and (vii) evaluating the policy landscape in Canada vs best practices globally.  This seminar will provide an overview of some of the methods we have used in conducting this research and will highlight some of our past, current and future work. 

Dr. Mary L'Abbé
Dr. Mary L'Abbé