Research
programs
Applied research is the driving force behind the Centre’s interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration. It aims to generate empirical evidence to support the design of strategies that advance the right to food throughout the life course. Research activities are organized into five major programmes, encompassing a range of research lines that address priority pathways for promoting healthy and sustainable dietary habits and are aligned with the national roadmap for transforming food systems.
This programme focuses on the study of people’s behaviours related to food purchasing, preparation, consumption, and disposal, as well as the influence of individual characteristics and food environments on these behaviours, health, and well-being. It addresses different stages of the life course. Current research lines include:
– Food consumption patters
– Food insecurity and coping strategies
– Meanings and perceptions associated with food
– Eating patterns in childhood and adolescence
– Energy drink consumption
– Conceptualization of food-related wellbeing
This programme focuses on addressing the social and commercial determinants of health through the study of external food environments, namely the economic factors and the physical, political, and sociocultural contexts in which people acquire food. Current research lines include:
– Retail food environments
– Physical access to food
– Economic access to food
– Food marketing
– Food labelling
– Food environments in educational institutions
This programme aims to document, design, analyse, and evaluate public policies, legislative initiatives, and intervention strategies to promote sustainable food systems and the fulfilment of the right to food. It seeks to generate evidence to help identify the set of solutions best suited to the local context. Current research lines include:
– Front-of-package nutrition labelling
– Strategies to reduce the sodium and sugar content of foods and beverages
– Food marketing regulations
– Design and evaluation of education and communication strategies
– Impact evaluation of public policies
– Food system governance
This programme focuses on food production and processing, with particular emphasis on their interactions with the other components of the food system. Among other activities, it examines the current situation regarding food availability and the composition of foods marketed in Uruguay. Current research lines include:
– Food availability
– Composition of products commercialized in the Uruguayan market
– Food additives
– Food upcyclying
This programme focuses on the study of socio-environmental interactions within food systems, viewed as complex socio-ecological systems. It aims to expand local knowledge on the environmental impacts of food by considering its life cycle from production to disposal and by identifying the ecosystem services affected at different stages of the food system. In addition, the programme seeks to generate knowledge and practical solutions to reduce food loss and waste throughout the entire supply chain. It includes two main research lines:
– Food loss and waste
– Environmental impact of food production and marketing