Uncertainty in the world may lead to uncertainty in fertility plans, says CPC Director Karen Guzzo. www.prb.org/articles/why-americans-are-delaying-parenthood/

While many people are giving up weight-loss drugs because of the side effects, restarting treatment can lead to other health hazards, says CPC Fellow John Batsis. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/h...

CPC Fellow Kavita Arora says that while interest in sterilization is growing, women face bias and increased scrutiny from physicians when requesting the procedures. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/w...

“My bigger fear really is that we’re going to move to the right in terms of access to reproductive medicine," says CPC Director Karen Guzzo regarding coming challenges to U.S. laws governing in vitro fertilization. www.cpc.unc.edu/news/trump-i...

On October 29, CPC Fellow Fenaba Addo participated in a webinar on the U.S. student loan crisis that examined the complexities of the crisis, including its disproportionate effect on Black borrowers. View the Webinar: www.irp.wisc.edu/resource/the...

On December 10, CPC Director Karen Benjamin Guzzo gave a presentation during a congressional briefing focused on recent U.S. birth rate trends. Watch her presentation: www.populationassociation.org/blogs/paa-web2/2025/12/11/congressional-briefing-on-us-fertility-trends

Worries about a decline in the U.S. birth rate are overblown, says CPC Director Karen Guzzo, adding that pronatalist solutions aren't likely to solve the problem. ncnewsline.com/2025/12/04/a...

"Defining and regulating ultraprocessed foods isn’t simple, but the best evidence we have says these foods should be limited in places children learn and play," says CPC Fellow Lindsey Smith Taillie. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/o...

In The Secrets of Silence, Carolina Population Center Fellow and Assistant Professor of Sociology Shannon Malone Gonzalez investigates how the policing of black women is tied to the policing of their stories. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Commenting on a recent lawsuit brought against 10 food producers, CPC Fellow Barry Popkin says ultraprocessed foods are worsening diets, driving overeating, and exposing consumers to toxins. "The food is killing us." www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

U.S. is far behind other countries in labeling ultraprocessed foods, CPC Fellow Barry Popkin says. “We’ve shown in a country like Chile, where they put a front-of-the-package warning label, that purchases of sugar went down 33%." www.wral.com/lifestyles/h...

“People are making rational choices about how difficult it is to be a parent,” says CPC Director Karen Guzzo | Carolina Population Center www.cpc.unc.edu/news/people-are-making-rational-choices-about-how-difficult-it-is-to-be-a-parent-says-cpc-director-karen-guzzo/

Increasing the U.S. birth rate requires more than one-time payments to mothers, CPC Director Karen Guzzo says. "The things that matter most are childcare infrastructure that is affordable, accessible, high quality and paid leave." www.deseret.com/magazine/202...

Demographic shifts in Japan and the United States make it an urgent priority for both countries to partner to advance aging research, clinical practice and educational initiatives, says CPC Fellow John Batsis. global.unc.edu/news-story/f...

A group of international experts, including CPC Fellow Barry Popkin, say addressing the challenge of ultraprocessed foods requires a unified global response that confronts corporate power and transforms food systems to promote healthier diets. www.thelancet.com/series-do/ul...

CPC Fellow Ganga Bey says humans' conceptions about themselves are not merely abstract philosophies. They are measurable, powerful determinants of health and well-being. greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item...

CPC Fellow Lindsey Smith Taillie says embracing her silly side makes her a better scientist. "Being authentic at work is not a weakness, but rather a strength," she says. www.science.org/content/arti...

CPC Director Karen Guzzo joins WABE's Health Wanted podcast to discuss Pronatalism and 'The Fertility Crisis' in the U.S. "For most people, they are choosing not to have kids throughout their 20s," she says. www.wabe.org/podcasts/hea...

Congratulations to CPC Fellow Stephanie Martin for receiving a Fall 2025 Rural Research, Engagement, and Advancement Fund award for her work to support healthier meals and improve health for migrant farmworkers. uncrural.unc.edu/2025/11/rrea...

Carolina Population Center 2025-2026 Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series: Ross Boyce - Without an Ark: Baseline Demographics of Residents Living in a Flood-Prone Area of Rural Western Uganda youtu.be/zedaLwYiZG4

Carolina Population Center 2025-2026 Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series: Sarah Petry - The Years Before Medicare: Expected Health Insurance Transitions youtu.be/G2-4WrbxFd8

The U.S. is behind other countries in requiring easy to understand nutrition and warning labels, said CPC Fellow Marissa Hall. “Warning labels are a surprisingly powerful tool for changing behavior when they are well-designed,” she said. www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Congrats to CPC Fellow and Assistant Professor of Sociology Lauren Valentino, who was selected for a Russell Sage Foundation Visiting Scholar Fellowship for the 2026-27 academic year!

“More than half of the women in rural North Carolina live more than 30 minutes away from a birthing hospital," says CPC Fellow Kavita Arora. New OB/GYN fellowship she will lead is a step in the right direction to close that gap, she says. www.healio.com/news/womens-...

On Veterans Day, CPC Fellow Ross Boyce reflects on how his time in the military has influenced his service to UNC and the state of North Carolina. www.instagram.com/reel/DQr5zAR...

CPC Fellow Fenaba Addo says "stark racial disparities in student loan debt accumulation and repayment make it clear that race and racial inequality are central to understanding the student loan debt crisis in the United States." badgerherald.com/news/campus/...

CPC Director Karen Guzzo discusses the pronatalism movement on WBUR's Here and Now. "Low birth rates have been mainstreamed without being well understood and they're being used to foment a population panic." www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

CPC Fellow Lindsey Smith Taillie will launch Lola, a personalized AI online grocery shopping technology that nudges users toward healthier choices as part of the new Kairos program at UNC’s Eshelman Innovation Institute. sph.unc.edu/sph-news/tai...

Congratulations to CPC Fellows Cassandra Davis and Stephanie Martin on being named to the 2025 class of Thorp Faculty Engaged Scholars, a Carolina Center for Public Service initiative that supports and accelerates community-engaged research and teaching! ccps.unc.edu/ccps-opportu...

Carolina Population Center fellows Audrey Pettifor, Marissa Hall, and Ilene Speizer will serve as departmental liaisons for the International Student Departmental Liaisons program at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. sph.unc.edu/sph-news/gil...

American kids' daily intake of ultraprocessed foods and sugary snacks should be more of a concern than their eating candy on a once-a-year holiday like Halloween, says CPC Fellow Lindsey Smith Taillie. www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/10/28/f...

Insecticide-treated baby wraps help provide a 'bridge' for babies until they are old enough to get the malaria vaccine. "You’re protecting the kid while they’re getting to that optimal vaccine-reduced protection," says CPC Fellow Ross Boyce. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/h...

Watch CPC Fellow Ted Mouw's UNC Research Week presentation "Using UNC's Research Data Center to Analyze Local Demographic Micro Data" youtu.be/SKdFX2WsQEw

New tool created by Carolina Demography and the N.C. Dept. of Public Instruction helps researchers group and compare school districts based on multiple indicators, rather than just using county population density. www.ednc.org/compare-nc-s...

Children who grow up in areas where wealth is more unevenly spread are less likely to move up the income ladder, says CPC Fellow Manuel Schechtl. www.unc.edu/posts/2025/1...

BRIEF: The relationship between the current fertility rate and population decline is not straightforward, CPC Director Karen Guzzo and co-authors say. contemporaryfamilies.utah.edu/publications...

Lack of confidence in the future—especially around the cost of living and childcare expenses—is leading many people to postpone having children, CPC Director Karen Guzzo says. www.newsweek.com/white-house-...

We are excited to announce that Nathan Dollar, Director of Carolina Demography, was accepted into Class 33 of Leadership North Carolina. He will work with and learn from 55 other North Carolina leaders across all sectors to tackle our state’s biggest challenges. #LNC #LNC33 tinyurl.com/mt4r4azh

UNC launches nation’s first rural OB-GYN fellowship. “Early and regular prenatal care is critical for reducing the risks of pregnancy and birth complications,” says fellowship director and CPC Fellow Kavita Arora. www.unc.edu/posts/2025/1...

Lack of a legal definition of 'ultraprocessed foods' is a major issue in nutrition and California's new ban takes on the problem with evidence-based solutions, says CPC Fellow Lindsey Smith Taillie. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/w...

"It was a level of effect that was beyond even our wildest expectations," CPC Fellow Ross Boyce says about the protection against malaria children received from wraps treated with insecticide. www.npr.org/sections/goa...

CPC Fellows Ted Mouw and Marissa Hall will present as part of UNC's University Research Week next week! View a full schedule of the week's events at researchweek.unc.edu.

Carolina Demography Director Nathan Dollar will speak on a panel at the "Six Decades Later: Legacies of the 1965 Immigration Act" event at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 at UNC's Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Research in Black Culture and History. apps2.research.unc.edu/events/index...

Insecticide-treated baby wraps help protect against malaria during the day when bed nets can't be used, says CPC Fellow Ross Boyce. globalhealth.unc.edu/2025/09/unc-...

Congratulations to Carolina Population Center fellows Elizabeth Frankenberg, Robert Hummer, and Nathan Dollar for their successful renewal of the Carolina Center for Population Aging and Health (CCPAH)! Visit the CCPAH website to learn about their work. ccpah.cpc.unc.edu

Congratulations to CPC Fellow Lauren Gaydosh, who received the Early Career Award in Population Health from the Milbank Quarterly at the 2025 Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science (IAPHS) Conference! www.milbank.org/news/lauren-...

Census Scientific Advisory Committee chaired by CPC Fellow Barbara Entwisle returns as an independent body to continue offering recommendations. apnews.com/article/cens...

Cancelling annual hunger survey may mean the government plans to cut food assistance programs, says CPC Fellow Lindsey Smith Taillie. www.wsj.com/economy/trum...

CPC Fellow Barry Popkin says that without regulations or laws to mandate change in the food and drug industries, 'MAHA' report is "all promises and has no teeth." www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/h...

Recommending lower priority solutions rather than tackling more substantial issues like sugary drinks in schools "speaks to industry lobbying," CPC Fellow Lindsey Smith Taillie says. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...