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MSc, PhD(Otago)

Rachel Brown

Email rachel.brown@otago.ac.nz

Rachel Brown is the Deputy Head of Department. Her primary research focus is on the health effects of regular nut consumption. She has led numerous human intervention studies examining outcomes such as blood lipid and lipoprotein levels, glycaemic response, sensory perception, inflammatory markers, endothelial function, appetite regulation, diet quality, body weight management, and overall energy balance.

Rachel leads the Nut Research Group, which was the first to explore critical public health questions around the feasibility and sustainability of regular nut consumption. Her research has significantly informed national dietary policy, contributing to New Zealand’s Eating and Activity Guidelines for Adults.

In 2022, Rachel was elected President of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand, an organisation dedicated to promoting ethical, evidence-based research and communication in nutritional science. She also holds a senior role on the Registration Panel for Nutritionists, where she assesses approximately 100 applications annually. Her work in this capacity ensures the integrity and credibility of the nutrition profession in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Paper coordination and teaching

Rachel coordinates:

  • NUTN401 Principles of Human Nutrition
  • NUTN404 Nutrition and Chronic Disease

Rachel teaches:

  • HUNT245 Sport and Exercise Nutrition
  • HUNT342 Nutrition and Chronic Diseases

Examples of current and past postgraduate students

PhD

  • Jennifer Gale. The effect of regular activity breaks during prolonged sitting in the evening on postprandial glucose metabolism and 48-hour sleep and physical activity patterns
  • Namratha Pai. Female athlete health: Risk of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) and education interventions
    Rebecca Cooke. Characteristics of obesity resistance and susceptibility
  • Melyssa Roy. The SWIFT trial: Support strategies for whole food diets, intermittent fasting and training
  • Michelle Jospe. The SWIFT study – Effect of support strategies on weight, body composition, and eating and dieting behaviour at one year

Master of Science

  • Mitchell Kale Mau. Caregivers’ knowledge, attitudes, and infant feeding practices in rural Papua New Guinea
  • Janet Yong. Barriers and facilitators to nut consumption
  • Luke Scullion. The HABIT study: Effects of healthy changes to bread on blood lipids and lipoproteins
  • Asika Devi. Is nut-enriched bread an acceptable and effective vehicle to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors?
  • Jo Slater. Low energy availability in New Zealand athletes (LEANZ)

Master of Dietetics

  • Heidi Taylor. The effects of soaking whole and ground almonds on consumer acceptance
  • Shivani Kumari. The effects of soaking on phytic acid and food safety of whole and ground nuts
  • Chloe Hindle. Energy Availability and Macronutrient Content of Elite Rugby Players' Diets
  • Claire Gibson. Disordered eating and body image in elite male Rugby Union players during pre-season training
  • Katherine Pearson. Nutrient displacement with nut consumption
  • Esther Kim. The dietary assessment software requirements of New Zealand Dietitians

Publications

Parackal, S., Akhtar, S. S., Yadav, S., Yadav, S., & Brown, R. (2024). Using co-design to identify intervention components to address unhealthy dietary and activity behaviours in New Zealand South Asians. Journal of Nutritional Science, 13, e47. doi: 10.1017/jns.2024.48 Journal - Research Article

Pai, N. N., Brown, R. C., & Black, K. E. (2024). Risk of low energy availability and nutrition knowledge among female team sport athletes. Journal of Sports Medicine & Physical Fitness. Advance online publication. doi: 10.23736/s0022-4707.23.15273-x Journal - Research Article

Ware, L. M., Gray, A. R., & Brown, R. C. (2023). Can snacking on almonds displace discretionary foods in the diets of habitual snackers? Proceedings of the Annual Scientific Meeting of the New Zealand and Australian Nutrition Societies: Nutrition and Wellbeing in Oceania. (pp. 133). Retrieved from https://nsnzconference.org.nz/ Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Peddie, M., Gale, J., Taylor, R., Brown, R., & Haszard, J. (2023). Do regular activity breaks performed in the laboratory impact subsequent free living activity patterns? A randomized crossover study. Journal of Sport & Exercise Science, 7(4), (pp. 148). doi: 10.36905/jses.2023.04.01 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Gale, J. T., Haszard, J. J., Wei, D. L., Brown, R. C., Taylor, R. W., & Peddie, M. (2023). Effects of activity breaks in the evening on subsequent sleep and physical activity in healthy adults: A randomized crossover trial. Proceedings of the New Zealand Branch of the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) Sleep in Aotearoa Annual Scientific Meeting. A8. Retrieved from https://sleep.org.au Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

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