
hf332@medschl.cam.ac.uk @_hannah_forde
Position
Research Associate
Affiliation
Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), MRC Epidemiology Unit
Keywords
Food Systems, Public Health, Policy, Commercial Determinants of Health
I am a Research Associate at the Centre for Diet and Activity Research, where I research ways to make the food system fairer and healthier for population and planetary health.
My research focuses on food marketing regulation, as marketing is often used by the commercial food industry to pursue corporate objectives, but disproportionately encourages high consumption of unhealthy products. Prior to this, I completed my PhD research at CEDAR, where I was funded by Public Health England (PHE) and the University of Cambridge ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership. My research examined changes in soft drinks marketing in response to the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy, a landmark policy in the UK Government's Childhood Obesity Plan. I have received funding to present my research at national conferences, for non-academic stakeholders such as PHE, and at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. I have also submitted written evidence to the House of Lord’s food insecurity inquiry and the Government’s consultation on food advertising restrictions on behalf of the MRC Epidemiology Unit.
I hold an undergraduate degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of St Andrews, and a Master’s degree in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health from the University of Bristol. I have previously worked in market and social research in both London and Edinburgh. During my PhD, I also completed an internship at the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, which was funded by the ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership.