Nutrition across borders

Biography

Lauren Senior is a nutrition professional currently studying her PhD at Leeds Beckett University. Lauren’s research is centred around a Nutrition and Health Survey of African and Caribbean adults living in the UK. Lauren’s work investigates the dietary habits and nutrition related health of West African, North African, and Caribbean adults. 

Before moving to the UK, Lauren achieved an undergraduate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Technology (UTECH) in Jamaica. In 2016, she completed a master’s degree in International Public Health Nutrition from the University of Westminster, London. Lauren’s research interests are public health nutrition and health inequalities, and she is passionate about culturally tailored health interventions for African and Caribbean communities. 

Synopsis

How culturally tailored interventions can improve the nutrition related health of Black African and Black Caribbean migrants and reduce type 2 diabetes and obesity risk. 

Migration plays an important role on dietary habits. People change what they eat based on the availability of their traditional foods. People’s dietary habits have been impacted over time by dietary acculturation and migration, with diets becoming increasingly Westernised, particularly in Black African and Black Caribbean populations. 

These dietary changes can negatively impact the nutrition related health of Black African and Black Caribbean populations who are disproportionally affected by type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke.

In this talk, Lauren Senior explores why culturally tailored interventions could be the way forward. By targeting specific foods and nutrients we can mitigate against the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes within Black African and Black Caribbean populations.