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Introduction to DIET
DIET is a five-year programme of research focused on providing vital information directly relevant to national and international policies on the most effective and cost-efficient ways to improve population diets and health.
The programme is being led by Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu at the National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI) at the University of Auckland, in collaboration with The Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington, The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Sydney, and The British Heart Foundation Centre on Population Approaches for Non-Communicable Desease Prevention at Oxford University.
It is funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
The DIET research programme includes five exciting projects:
Starlight Trial
To evaluate the effects of front-of-pack nutrition labels on food purchases
Price ExaM
To evaluate the effects of price changes on food purchases
NutriSales
To measure New Zealanders' exposure to salt, fat and sugar in the food supply
Kids'Cam
Exploring New Zealand children's everyday environments
Modelling
To evaluate the effects of nutrition interventions on long-term health and inequalities
Key themes of the programme are:
- Scalable, population-level interventions
- Focus on Māori and Pacific peoples in consultation with Toi Tangata and Māori and Pacific representatives of the DIET Programme Advisory Group
- Ease of translation to policy action
- Use of innovative intervention and measurement technologies.
Timeframe
The DIET research programme runs from September 2013 to September 2018. The following diagram shows the approximate timeframes for each of the five projects within the programme:
