C3 Collaborated with The George Institute for the international seminar, ‘Diet and NCDs: sex and gender considerations matter.’ C3 was joined by Dr Briar McKenzie of the food policy division at The George Institute for Global Health. Dr Briar discussed the importance of considering sex and gender differences in public health research and when developing policy interventions. Briar shared key findings from her work on the associations between diet and non-communicable diseases, including reflections on lived experience research and policy analysis work from a program of work based in Fiji; exploring what can be done next to advance multisectoral and gender-responsive NCD prevention policy?

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About the George Institute:

This international seminar is in collaboration with The George Institute. The George Institute is a leading independent global medical research institute with major centres in Australia, China, India and the UK, and an international network of experts and collaborators. Their mission is to improve the health of millions of people worldwide, particularly those living in disadvantaged circumstances, by challenging the status quo and using innovative approaches to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases and injury.

About the speaker:

Dr Briar McKenzie (PhD, APD) is a practising dietitian within the food policy division at the George Institute for Global Health. She is a conjoint lecturer with the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Briar’s research aims to improve health equity by promoting the uptake of healthy diets, in order to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases, particularly in populations who currently face the highest burdens of disease. Previously, Dr Briar investigated the relationship of sex and gender with dietary intake, behaviours and cardiometabolic diseases. Her research currently focuses on two main areas, firstly, supporting the scale-up of food policy interventions in Pacific Island countries, and secondly, exploring the relationship between diet and poor brain health. Across her focus areas, she has a key interest in exploring gender equity considerations, and in addressing the social determinants of poor health through the development and implementation of equitable health policies.