Was fun to be interviewed about this exciting new study showing the link between increased heat and more soda consumption. Just weeks ago a food industry rep yelled at me at ICN for pointing out aggressive soda and ice cream marketing during heatwaves. Mic drop! www.npr.org/2025/09/10/n...

Prediction: in five years, UNC will have transitioned from research powerhouse to glorified stadium. Or at this rate, maybe by next year.

Among many other much more serious grievances, the writer in me is pissed off to have to replace the word "diverse" with "sociodemographically heterogeneous" in my grant proposals.

A couple months ago I posted a joke about resetting passwords that turned into a humor piece that was published in McSweeney's today! I hope my kids take this profound lesson to heart.

Great news out of Norway! #MAHA would do well to follow suit. Much like tobacco, we should not be advertising junk food to children.

Some of MAHA's concerns -- like avoiding ultra-processed foods -- are backed up by mainstream science. Others, like a focus on food dyes, are less so. “If you ask me what would be the one thing that we need to do ... removing food dyes would be way down on the list." @lindseytaillie.bsky.social

“You win more bees with honey than fire,” Dr. Makary said, adding “I believe in love, and let’s start in a friendly way and see if we can do this without any statutory or regulatory changes.” Decades of research show that this approach fails every single time.

Tell me you're a millennial without telling me you're a millennial. I'll go first: I marched into my hairstylists' yesterday and requested the Carrie Coon cut from White Lotus.

Our new commentary out in Lancet: The promises & pitfalls of MAHA. Of course, in the short time since we wrote this, much has changed. Most alarming is @kevinh-phd.bsky.social's early retirement from the NIH due over censorship of results that don't align with the MAHA message.

Every parent is so relieved when they’re finally done with paying for daycare. What they don’t realize is as your kids age, there’s something looming on the horizon, something that will drain your bank account even faster than a play-based French-themed nursery school: Athleisure.

I'm a little scared to post this, but I'm finally ready to talk about my big breakup. It's hard to say goodbye to your partner of multiple decades, but I did it and have lived to tell the tale. Get your tissues ready. It's a love story more tragic than Bennifer's.

Me and my MPI going to project meetings these days.

In a sample of 1,226 school food authorities across 8 states, only 17% of schools reported serving scratch or modified scratch cooked foods (i.e., minimally processed) daily. Learn more in a new research brief: bit.ly/3DIZmnG

Today I did the bravest thing I've ever done. I canceled my Amazon Prime subscription. If you need me, you can find me in my bedroom, where I'll be playing Bon Jovi's "Always" on repeat while stroking my final cardboard box full of shit I could have bought at Walgreens.

The media coverage associated with March Madness basketball is a great opportunity for universities to explain the importance of academic freedom and diversity of students, faculty, employees and thought.

Writing a grant in normal times is an act of optimism. You develop your plans, get genuinely excited about the value your science will bring the world, and convince other folks to join you. The odds are low, but you feel hopeful. Writing a grant during current times feels like an act of insanity.

"In effect, American farmers have put a lot more of their eggs in a relatively small number of baskets." ^ epic burn www.npr.org/2025/03/18/n...

My inbox is half emails from me attempting to remind myself of something I need to do, but they're totally undecipherable. "FOOD DYES" "EDGE PRODUCTS" "LEAVE COUNTRY" Hm, I guess that last one's a little clearer.

"As in psychological warfare — where destabilization is sought through confusion, fear, and mistrust — our current climate of chaos and apprehension has gripped researchers, federal workers, and Americans who rely on the government." minnesotareformer.com/2025/03/13/i...

Let's say it louder for the folks in the back: French fries aren't healthy no matter what they're fried in. (Also, seed oils are FINE.)

New report shows that NIH grants fueled $95 billion in economic activity and 407,782 jobs in 2024. That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved. Show me a better investment than that. www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

If you want to get ultraprocessed foods out of schools, which RJK Jr. and many other Republican legislators have claimed to want to do, this is the OPPOSITE approach the government should take: www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

I really wish media outlets would stop parroting the Trump line about rooting out "fraud, waste, and abuse" because we all know that's code for any program the groypers don't like. It's similar to how DEI has been used to eupehmize racism and resegregation.

New article in Nature Food: how the food industry exploits our biology for profit.

Comment by Barry Popkin, @shuwenng.bsky.social, & @lindseytaillie.bsky.social in @naturefood.bsky.social on how ultra-processed products exploit our biology & lead to increased disease + environmental harm, accelerating most rapidly in low- and middle-income countries. www.nature.com/articles/s43...

Per senior USAID official, Trump Adm actions likely to cause * up to 18m additional cases of malaria; 166k additional deaths * 200k children paralyzed with polio * 1m children not treated for malnutrition * 28k new cases of infectious disease www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/h...

The food industry starts kids on the ultraprocessed food pipeline from infancy. It starts with toddler melts, snacks, flavored yogurts and flavored drinks and then escalates into the full array of junk food marketed straight to kids.

I'm in Bangladesh this week. At first, I was happy to have a break from everything happening at home. But my time here has been filled with stories about how USAID has improved health, malnutrition, and climate disaster management. Thinking about its loss is gutting. I am grieving for global health.

For those who don't yet know, the 5calls app is so quick and easy. It gives phone #s and scripts. I used it this morning to call both my senators and my House rep and urge them to protect NSF and NIH. It took a total of 5 minutes and was as simple as clicking a button. Call your reps today!

An important question: why do universities do research, anyway? We do research because it enables us to fulfill a core part of our mission: generating new knowledge. Research also helps better educate students because it gives them access to cutting-edge knowledge, technology, and skills.

Is there a version of Severance but for reading the news? I want an Innie who can ingest the daily onslaught of horrible headlines and deal with the work fallout, and an Outie who can come home, chill with the cat, and gently drift off asleep while watching Love is Blind.

The PCD purge covers a wide variety of research topics. See the link for a list of all 2024 papers that were removed. Posting a sampling here, along with their archived versions #publichealth #academicsky 🛟

This is not normal!

Catch me on NPR this morning talking about my favorite topic, breakfast cereal, and a new study showing that targeted kids' ads increases purchases. It's more data to show that to improve pediatric health, we need to cut out the junk food marketing to kids. Industry can't & won't stop themselves.

Such a good idea- I also plan to add info on funding and the NIH to my syllabus. It never occurred to me to bring this up in a gen ed nutrition class but it’s become very clear we need higher public awareness of how the health science sausage gets made.

Yikes y’all. The mood here in a school of public health is grim. I don’t quite have words for the vibe but it’s a cross between the fear from March 2020 and the distress from when Ohio State lost to Michigan for the 4th time in a row (oh wait, maybe that one’s just me). All jokes aside, it’s bad.

Looking for a reliable source of practical and science-based health information straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our Substack and help amplify Nerdy voices (now more than ever). thosenerdygirls.substack.com #scicomm #publichealth

Here's what my colleague's pre-K in Ireland is serving for lunch next week: - tomato & lentil bake - rosemary lamb - salmon & broccoli tagliatelle Vs my kid's school: - mac n cheese - taco - chicken nuggets Why do Americans eat so much ultraprocessed food? Because we're teaching them to.

I'm not one to give into doomerism, but wow, I had forgotten at how distracting it is to live under the Trump administration. With these executive orders, I feel like an owl with my head on a swivel.

This is highly concerning. Into the void of scientific communication comes (even more) misinformation.

Mary Oliver: What will you do with your one wild and precious life? Me: Two-factor authentication.

Anyone else unsettled by what’s going on on LinkedIn lately? I mean, it’s all fine, but I’m reluctant to spend much time on it. It feels even more curated and self-promoting-y than other socials. Thoughts?

🍎📃 As a new Substacker and old nutrition nerd I can confirm @kcklatt.bsky.social’s Substack is where it’s at! Check out this post for super helpful insights into this whole red food dye business.

Big week! FDA drops their labeling proposal, FDA bans red #3, and scientists are proposing to redefine obesity after decades of agonizing. Buckling up for a wild 2025.

I’m a huge supporter of public schools but they’re failing in one key way: my kids think the definition of “heavy winter coat” is "hoodie.” Also: A hat= a cat-ear headband Shoes= sandals Pants= booty shorts with tall socks Gloves= one single glove in the bottom of the backpack

This is fabulous- I didn’t know the FDA was considering this. Fixing date labels would go a long way towards helping consumers cut food waste.

Can testify, this is super fun! Bummed about the news? I am. Writing silly fake news headlines yesterday for this challenge was a fun (if fleeting) antidote. We need to load up on laughter where we can get it.

Sugary Drinks Drive Global Diabetes and Cardiovascular Cases healthpolicy-watch.news/sugary-drink...

📯Breaking new, food policy nerds! The White House OMB has stopped taking meetings on the front-of-package labeling rule. Word on the street is that the proposal should drop any day.