Nutrition Obesity Research Center News

Mayer-Davis elected to board of American Society for Nutrition

March 9, 2019
Dr. Mayer-Davis will begin her term on July 1.

Mayer-Davis selected as member of 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

February 21, 2019
To ensure that America’s dietary guidance reflects the latest science, the U.S. secretaries of agriculture and health and human services have announced the appointment of 20 nationally recognized scientists to serve on the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Dr. Beth Mayer-Davis was one of the appointees.

Dr. Steven Zeisel: A chance I might discover something

July 23, 2018 A feature on Dr. Steve Zeisel describes his groundbreaking research on the micronutrient choline. It is reprinted here with permission from the Carolina Alumni Review. Photo courtesy of the Carolina Alumni Review.

Gillings School researchers join ‘creativity hubs’ to fight obesity, improve water access

May 8, 2018 Eighteen researchers from the Gillings School are part of the two newly awarded Carolina Creativity Hubs, which will leverage interdisciplinary work to fight obesity and improve water access.

Zeisel awarded fellowship in American Society for Nutrition

April 27, 2017 Dr. Steve Zeisel has been inducted into the American Society for Nutrition’s 2017 Class of Fellows. Fellowship is the Society's highest honor, offered to scientists who have had distinguished careers in the field of nutrition.

Youth with Type 2 diabetes more likely to have significant complications later in life

February 28, 2017 A new report, co-authored by Dr. Beth Mayer-Davis and published in JAMA, indicates that adolescents and young adults with Type 2 diabetes bear a significantly higher burden of potential diabetes-related complications – especially among minority youth with this disease – than do their peers with Type 1 diabetes.

Sugar-sweetened beverage purchases declined in two years after Mexican 'soda tax' passed

February 21, 2017 A new study by nutrition researchers Drs. Shu Wen Ng and Barry Popkin -- and their collaborators in Mexico -- found that Mexico's tax on sugary beverages caused the purchase of those beverages to decline during the second year of the tax. Earlier research had shown an immediate decrease in purchases in the tax's first year. The study is published in the journal Health Affairs.

JAMA Study: Two specific methods prevented weight gain in young adults for three years

May 2, 2016 A new study co-authored by a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill researcher found two specific diet and exercise strategies prevented weight gain and obesity among young adults over a sustained three-year period. The multi-site study, published online May 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine, focused on young adults between the 18 and... Read more »

NIH extends funding for Nutrition Obesity Research Center through second decade

April 13, 2016 The UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) will receive a $5.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund another five years of research. The award is the fourth time NIH has provided five-year funding for the center. “We are proud that the NIH has selected UNC as one... Read more »

Two studies address link between obesity and basal-like breast cancer

April 7, 2016 Recent work from the laboratory of Liza Makowski, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, explores two possibilities for breaking the link between obesity and basal-like breast cancer. Basal-like breast cancer (BBC) is a highly aggressive type of tumor that often strikes young and African-American... Read more »