News

Malawi Dietetics Program Accredited

Malawi Dietetics Program Accredited

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Nutrition takes great pleasure in announcing the launch of a new clinical nutrition dietetics program in Malawi.
Smart Food Choices for Seniors

Smart Food Choices for Seniors

Eating right as an older adult takes a bit more effort. Even if you stay the same weight as you age, you have less lean muscle mass and your metabolism slows down, which means you need fewer calories than you once did. At the same time, your nutrient needs stay the same or even increase. Your body may have trouble absorbing certain nutrients, such as B12 and magnesium. That’s why making every bite count is even more important for seniors.
Dangerous Drinks

Dangerous Drinks

In public health circles, it’s often called the low-hanging fruit. If people could just kick the sugar-sweetened beverage habit, it would make a huge dent in the number of empty calories they consume. Sugary drinks often have no nutrients other than sugar, so it’s a simple cut-it-out message that even kids can understand—no fussing with fiber grams or glycemic index rankings, no shopping for fruits and vegetables.
Tufts Student GIS Project Browser Launched

Tufts Student GIS Project Browser Launched

A beta-launch of a new project at Tufts has arrived and many of our own Friedman School students have their work featured. Visit the Tufts Student GIS site and learn more about the interesting and impactful work being done by Tufts students.
Five Tufts Researchers Are Among World’s Most Influential

Five Tufts Researchers Are Among World’s Most Influential

Work by these scientists is most frequently cited by their colleagues.... Five Tufts researchers have been named to Thomson Reuters' 2015 list of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds. The list recognizes the top thinkers in 21 fields who between 2003 and 2014 published the most papers cited highly by other scientists. “When peers read and cite the work they find the most useful and significant, it is a concrete, quantifiable marker of esteem,” the report notes. Thomson Reuters is a multinational media and information company.
The Prisoner's Nutrition Dilemma

The Prisoner's Nutrition Dilemma

Inmates take a hard look at their delinquent diets with help from Friedman alums.... Snacking is pervasive at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Norfolk, a medium security prison for men just south of Boston. A pint of Ben & Jerry’s is a daily ritual for some, and a common treat is the “honey bun sandwich”—a chocolate bar melted between two honey buns, totaling more than 1,500 calories. The inmates snack out of boredom, missing their families, or depression. 
Effective Exit Strategies for Development Food Assistance Projects: Kenya Country Study

Effective Exit Strategies for Development Food Assistance Projects: Kenya Country Study

A persistent challenge of development projects is ensuring that the benefits of interventions are sustained after the projects end. However, there is little evidence on the effectiveness of different strategies to ensure the sustainability of development projects’ activities, outcomes, and impacts. 
High folic acid intake in aged mice causes a lowered immune response

High folic acid intake in aged mice causes a lowered immune response

Previous studies have shown an association between high folic acid intake and a reduction in the immune system defenses needed to fight viral infections and cancer. In a new study in mice published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (HNRCA) set out to determine if excess folic acid intake caused adverse changes in the immune system.
A Nutrition Policy Balancing Act

A Nutrition Policy Balancing Act

The new U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which focus on eating patterns more than individual foods, are stirring controversy among experts. Is it perfect? No one seems to think so. But if you want a plan to gently nudge Americans away from the unhealthy way of eating we’re accustomed to, you could do worse than the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which were released on Jan. 7.
Incentives for Healthy Eating

Incentives for Healthy Eating

A little extra purchasing power at the grocery seems to help promote better diets for people on public assistance. Very few of us eat enough fruits and vegetables, and for the more than 47 million Americans who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, that number is a bit smaller still.