Ultra-processed foods: a need for clarification to enhance public health policies

Mon 15 May 2023

MRC Epidemiology Unit

Dr Zoé Colombet of the University of Liverpool will join our hybrid MRC Epidemiology Unit seminar on 15 May to discuss 'Ultra-Processed Foods: a need for clarification to enhance public health policies'.

While the literature about ultra-processed foods (UPF) intakes and health impact is exponentially growing, its also appears that the definition and the classifications used may be clarified. Indeed, to be efficient public health policies needs a clear target. This presentation will depict the current works on UPF conducted in collaborations between the University of Liverpool and the MRC Epidemiology Cambridge. This presentation will also show how simulation models can be used to evaluate future health impacts of food policies targeting UPF.

Zoé Colombet is a post-doc from the Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems at the University of Liverpool. Her background training is in Public Health and Epidemiology. Since then, she has specialized in nutritional epidemiology, with a PhD characterising the nutrition transition in the French West Indies through the identification of dietary patterns, the evolution of dietary consumption, and the analysis of the underlying social determinants.

In her current projects, as a member of Modelling Group in the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Prevention and Food Policy Research Team, she models the potential impacts of the implementation of policies and related changes in diet and their impact on inequalities.