Prioritizing food systems for healthier adolescent nutrition in low-income settings
Official title: [R01] Prioritizing food systems interventions to reduce adolescents’ nutrition insecurity and malnutrition in low-income settings
Funded at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11474067 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant aims to help adolescents in low-income communities eat better by studying how access to food and local systems affect their nutrition.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $35,364 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HD113723-03S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11474067 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents aged 12-20 living in low-income urban settlements in LMICs.
✕Less likely to help
If a family lacks access to formal food networks or if interventions are not culturally appropriate, benefits may be limited.
What this research studies
The project will study how food availability, affordability, and services in urban settlements influence what adolescents in LMICs eat. It uses a mix of community input, data analysis, and modeling to understand how food systems shape diet quality and nutrition among teens. Researchers will focus on Nairobi, Kenya, comparing informal and formal settlements to identify leverage points for improving adolescents’ nutrition and reducing malnutrition. The goal is to inform interventions that are practical within the local context and can be scaled to similar settings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could guide policies and programs that make healthier foods more accessible to adolescents in resource-limited settings.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show that tailoring interventions to local food systems can improve dietary outcomes in youth, but adolescence-specific systems-thinking approaches are less common.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Downs, Shauna — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Downs, Shauna
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.