Journal of Nutrition and Health Sciences

Punam Ohri-Vachaspati is an Associate Professor of Nutrition at the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion at Arizona State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Nutrition and Food Policy from Tufts University School of Nutrition and is also a Registered Dietitian. Her current work focuses on understanding the social-ecological determinants of obesity. Ohri-Vachaspati is a PI on a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded longitudinal study investigating the influence of changes in food and physical activity related environments on childhood obesity and related behaviors. She assesses the impact of food environments and policies in schools, childcare centers, and in community settings. She also studies the role of food marketing in driving behaviors. Prior to coming to ASU, Ohri-Vachaspati was an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University and a Childhood Obesity Fellow at RWJF. She has worked at the Ohio State University with the extension services for eight years.

• Assessment of food environments and their impact on health
• Food and nutrition policies and programs
• Public health strategies for obesity prevention
• Food security