Dr Sarah Helen Kehoe BSc, MSc, PhD
Senior Research Fellow, Public Health Nutritionist
I am a Public Health Nutritionist with an interest in global health and the determinants of diet and physical activity.
My research focuses on the determinants of diet and physical activity with the aim of developing interventions to prevent cardiometabolic disease in developing and transitioning populations
I completed my BSc in Physiology and Psychology and my MSc in Public Health Nutrition, both at the University of Southampton.
I joined the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit in 2006 and have since worked on nutritional aspects of cohort and intervention studies investigating the developmental origins of chronic disease in India. This has included dietary and physical activity assessment, diet patterns analysis, systematic reviews, development of a micronutrient-rich snack and micronutrient status assessment.
I completed my PhD in 2013, my thesis was entitled ‘The effect of a micronutrient-rich food supplement on women’s health and nutrient status’. I subsequently led a qualitative study in rural Maharashtra, India which aimed to identify constraints to fruit and vegetable consumption among women of reproductive age. We investigated supply and demand factors by holding focus group discussions and interviews with consumers, vendors, wholesalers and farmers. We also engaged with policy makers and other stakeholders to understand their priorities in terms of improving nutrition and health in these communities.
My current research focuses on determinants of dietary habits and associated cardiometabolic health outcomes in low-income settings in India and Sub-Saharan Africa, and aims to identify and implement interventions to improve nutritional status across the lifecourse. I am Scientific Coordinator for the NIHR Global Health Research Group INPreP (Improved Nutrition Preconception, Pregnancy and Postnatally). This project aims to identify and pilot interventions to improve maternal and child nutritional status in in Burkina Faso, Ghana and South Africa. I am a member of the TALENT (Transforming Adolescent Lives through Nutrition) Research group which aims to develop and implement interventions in India and Sub-Saharan Africa to optimise diet and increase physical activity among adolescents.
Qualifications
BSc, Physiology and Psychology, University of Southampton,1999
MSc, Public Health Nutrition, University of Southampton, 2006
PhD, Public Health Nutrition, University of Southampton, 2013