Prioritizing food systems to improve teens’ 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-11474066 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A project to help hungry and malnourished adolescents in low-income urban areas by studying how food systems affect what teens eat and how to make healthier choices.
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) | $70,245 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HD113723-03S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11474066 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents aged 12-20 living in Nairobi’s informal or formal settlements and facing nutrition insecurity.
✕Less likely to help
If a teen lives in a setting with ample access to healthy food and stable services, benefits may be limited.
What this research studies
This project focuses on adolescents in Nairobi, Kenya, exploring how the local food environment and services shape nutrition. Researchers will combine input from teens with quantitative data and modeling to understand how to improve access to healthy foods. The study aims to identify practical interventions within existing communities to reduce both undernutrition and obesity. By examining how families, neighborhoods, and informal settlements influence eating habits, the team hopes to design actionable strategies that fit real-life contexts.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to targeted programs that improve teens’ access to healthy foods and reduce nutrition-related health problems.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows that context-specific, community-informed approaches can improve adolescent nutrition in LMICs, though tailoring to food systems is relatively novel.
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.