Shu Wen Ng
Professor, Department of Nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Shu Wen Ng is a Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Trained as a health economist, she is interested in studying the role of dietary change and shifts in physical activity patterns in weight gain among those experiencing rapid economic and social change. Her work involves investigated the design and use of food pricing policies and food assistance programs to encourage healthier food offerings, purchases and dietary consumption while narrowing disparities and inequities. On the Global Food Research Program, Shu Wen leads studies that use commercial food purchase, food sales data and Nutrition Facts Panel data, as well as publicly available household income-expenditure, price and census data. Shu Wen has extensive modeling experience with multi-level and instrumental variable models, survival analysis/ hazard modeling, propensity scoring, time-series and dynamic panel estimation analyses. She teaches National Nutrition Policy.
When I’m in a time crunch, I love to make… avocado soup! Puree 3-4 ripe avocados with ~1 cup skim milk (adjust based on preference), dash of cayenne & black pepper, hint of salt, and juice of ½ a lime. Top with cooked shrimp and/or cilantro for garnish, and voila! Best if made a few hours ahead, chilled and served cold (great on a hot summer day!)
The craziest thing I’ve ever eaten is… fried tarantula (in Cambodia)
After a good workout, nothing beats… a glass of cold chocolate almond milk.
GFRP Publications
Defining “High-In” Saturated Fat, Sugar, and Sodium to Help Inform Front-of-Pack Labeling Efforts for Packaged Foods and Beverages in the United States
Authors: Elizabeth Dunford, Donna Miles, Bridget Hollingsworth, Samantha Heller, Barry Popkin, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Nutrients, December 10, 2024 view full text
Planning laws as part of a systems approach are needed to improve children's health and reduce inequalities
Authors: Shu Wen Ng, Christina Vogel
Published in: Current Developments in Nutrition, September 13, 2024 view full text
“Warning: ultra-processed”: an online experiment examining the impact of ultra-processed warning labels on consumers’ product perceptions and behavioral intentions
Authors: Aline D'Angelo Campos, Shu Wen Ng, Ana Clara Duran, Neha Khandpur, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Fernanda Christon, Marissa Hall
Published in: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, October 9, 2024 view full text
“The dollar store got it going on”: Understanding Food Shopping Patterns and Policy Preferences Among Dollar Store Shoppers with Low Incomes
Authors: Alexandria Reimold, Marissa Hall, Shuwen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Kurt Ribisl, Emile Charles, Shelley Golden
Published in: Current Developments in Nutrition, September 13, 2024 view full text
A produce prescription program for patients with low incomes in North Carolina resulted in increased produce purchases.
Authors: Amy Lo, Neal Curran, Sierra Mullen, Shu Wen Ng
Published In: Preventative Medicine, August 11, 2024 view full text
Nutritional quality of food purchases during the COVID-19 public health crisis: an analysis of geographic disparities in North Carolina
Authors: Aline D'Angelo Campos, Shu Wen Ng
Published In: Preventive Medicine Reports, July 5, 2024 view full text
How promising are "ultra-processed" front-of-package labels? A formative study with U.S. adults
Authors: Aline D'angelo Campos, Shu Wen Ng, Katherine McNeel, Marissa Hall
Published in: Nutrients, April 6, 2024 view full text
Promoting healthier purchases: ultra-processed food taxes and minimally-processed food subsidies for the low income.
Authors: Pourya Valizadeh, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: American Journal of Preventative Medicine, April 2, 2024 view full text
Impact of the Philadelphia beverage tax on perceived beverage healthfulness, tax awareness and tax opinions
Authors: Caitlin Lowery, Christina Roberto, Sophia Hua, Sara Bleich, Nandita Mitra, Hannah Lawman, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Shu Wen Ng, Laura Gibson
Published in: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, March 9, 2024 view full text
Trends in sugar from package foods and beverages purchased by U.S. households between 2002 and 2020
Authors: Gabriela Vatavuk-Serrati, Sarah Frank, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published In: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, October 25, 2023 view full text
Cost-benefit analysis of alternative tax policies on sugar-sweetened beverages in Mexico
Authors: Juan Carlos Salgado Hernandez, Shu Wen Ng, Sally C. Stearns, Justin G. Trogdon
Published in: PLOS One, October 3, 2023 view full text
Beverage industry’s advertising expenditures and airtimes in South Africa from 2013 to 2019 target children and families
Authors: Micheal Kofi Boachie, Susan Goldstein, Petronell Kruger, Shu Wen Ng, Karen J. Hofman, Evelyn Thsehla
Published in: Journal of Public Health Research, April 24, 2023 view full text
Changes in sugar-sweetened beverage purchases across the price distribution after the implementation of a tax in Mexico: a before-and-after analysis
Authors: Juan Carlos Salgado Hernández, Shu Wen Ng, M. Arantxa Colchero
Published in: BMC Public Health, February 7, 2023 view full text
Sweetener purchases in Chile before and after implementing a policy for food labeling, marketing, and sales in schools
Authors: Natalia Rebolledo, Maxime Bercholz, Linda Adair, Camila Corvalán, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Current Developments in Nutrition, December 23, 2022
view full text
Grocery purchase changes were associated with a North Carolina COVID food assistance incentive program
Authors: Caitlin M. Lowery, Richard Henderson, Neal Curran, Sam Hoeffler, Molly DeMarco, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: Health Affairs, November 7, 2022 view full text
Did the sweetness of beverages change with the Chilean Food Labeling and Marketing Law? A before and after study
Authors: Natalia Rebolledo, Maxime Bercholz, Camila Corvalán, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Frontiers in Nutrition, October 28, 2022 view full text
Simulation models of sugary drink policies: A scoping review
Authors: Natalie Riva Smith, Anna H. Grummon, Shu Wen Ng, Sarah Towner Wright, Leah Frerichs
Published in: PLOS ONE, October 3, 2022 view full text
Effect of different front-of-package food labels on identification of unhealthy products and intention to purchase the products – A randomised controlled trial in South Africa
Authors: Makoma Bopape, Jeroen De Man, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Shu Wen Ng, Nandita Murukutla, Rina Swart
Published in: Appetite, August 24, 2022 (online ahead of print) view full text
Prevalence and demographic correlates of online grocery shopping: results from a nationally representative survey during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Emily W. Duffy, Amy Lo, Marissa G. Hall, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Shu Wen Ng
Published in: Public Health Nutrition, August 19, 2022 view full text
Did A Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program Support low-income Households in North Carolina during the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Mixed Methods Assessment of the Healthy Helping Program and Other Pandemic-Related Food Assistance
Authors: Isabel Lu, Brett Sheppard, Shu Wen Ng, Sarah Burstein, Emile Charles, Taylor Williams
and Molly De Marco
Published in: Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, August 7, 2022 view full text