Obese adults experience increased influenza risk despite being vaccinated, study finds
June 6, 2017 Melinda A. Beck, PhD, of the UNC Gillings Department of Nutrition, is the corresponding author of a new study in the International Journal of Obesity. The study found that, compared to adults of healthy weight, obese adults are twice as likely to contract the flu or a flu-like illness despite being vaccinated.
Initiatives to reduce salt in packaged foods have worked, but more can be done
June 5, 2017 Gillings School researchers have found that Americans are getting significantly less sodium from packaged foods than they did 15 years ago – but they still take in too much salt from these products.
Mayer-Davis featured in The Lancet as leader in diabetes research
June 2, 2017 Nutrition chair and distinguished professor Elizabeth Mayer-Davis is profiled in the June 1 issue of The Lancet as a leader in diabetes research.
Statins may reduce inflammation related to advanced prostate cancer risk
May 9, 2017 A study led by Dr. Emma Allott explores the relationship between statin use, inflammation and prostate cancer. Allott's findings were published May 9 in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.
Dietary calcium-phosphorus ratio does not influence bone health in older Americans, study finds
May 8, 2017 A study by Dr. John Anderson and Gillings School colleagues, published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, examines whether a low ratio of dietary calcium to phosphorus has an impact upon bone health of older adults in the U.S.
Physical activity helps to counteract weight gain from obesity-causing gene variant, study finds
May 4, 2017 To determine how physical activity and genetic variants related to obesity interact to affect weight gain, Dr. Misa Graff and colleagues performed genome-wide interaction meta-analyses using more than 200,000 individuals. The international study was published in PLOS Genetics.
New study explores timing of changes in blood pressure health that lead to larger disparities
April 20, 2017 African Americans and men are more likely to transition from ideal levels of blood pressure in childhood or early adulthood compared to white Americans and women, which puts them at increased risk of developing hypertension earlier in life.
One year later: Berkeley’s 'Soda Tax' significantly reduced sales of sugary drinks
April 18, 2017 A new study found that a 2015 tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) implemented by Berkeley, Calif., resulted one year later in a drop in SSB purchases and an increase in purchases of non-sweetened beverages, including water. The study, co-led by Drs. Barry Popkin and Shu Wen Ng, and researchers at the Public Health Institute of Oakland, Calif., was published in PLOS Medicine.
Ten-year study shows steady increase in Type 1, Type 2 diabetes in US youth
April 13, 2017 A study co-led by Dr. Beth Mayer-Davis and published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the yearly rate of newly diagnosed cases of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in youth increased significantly and steadily in the years between 2002 and 2012, especially among Hispanic youth.
Aggressive breast cancer grows faster in obese environment
April 4, 2017 Researchers from the Department of Nutrition report that the environment surrounding breast cancer cells also drives the disease.
