It is the life work of child nutritionist Sara Benjamin Neelon to understand how child care can impact a child’s health and contribute to the development of obesity. In our series “Bringing Global Health Home,” she discusses her work to improve health in North Carolina.
As part of Benjamin Neelon’s research, she found that young children are heavier when they are cared for in less formal settings, for example under the supervision of a neighbor or grandparent. She also discovered in a separate study that while children consumed lots of fruit juice, they often did not eat fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.
Benjamin Neelon came to Duke last September from Harvard University, where she was working on an obesity prevention fellowship. She is currently assistant professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the Duke University Medical Center, and a DGHI member.
Learn more about her research, including the “Watch Me Grow” obesity prevention intervention that is under way at child care centers in Durham County.
