Dr Rebecca Pradeilles

BSc, MSc, PhD, FHEA

  • Visiting Fellow in Global Public Health Nutrition

Rebecca Pradeilles is an EC Marie Sklodowska Curie Global Fellow based at UMR MoISA (Montpellier Interdisciplinary Centre on Sustainable Agri-food systems: Social and Nutritional Sciences, IRD: French National Institute for Sustainable Development). She is also a Visiting Fellow in Global Public Health Nutrition within the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences (SSEHS), 含羞草视频. 

She has demonstrated an extensive commitment to the field of Global Health Nutrition, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). After training as a dietician, she completed a master's degree in Nutrition applied to LMICs, followed by a master's degree in Epidemiology and Public Health. In 2015, Rebecca completed a PhD at 含羞草视频 in Public Health Nutrition, focusing on dietary and anthropometric transitions in a large cohort (Birth to Twenty) of urban South African adolescents.

Whilst finishing her PhD, Rebecca was employed as a Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Sheffield (2015-2016). Following this post, she was employed as a Research Fellow in Global Health Nutrition at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to work on the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) project (2016-2017). This project focused on women’s work in agriculture during/post pregnancy and its implications for undernutrition and health in both women and their offspring in rural Pakistan. From 2017 to 2019, Rebecca worked as a Research Fellow in Global Public Health Nutrition at the University of Sheffield, working on two projects on dietary transitions in African cities (Accra, Ho and Nairobi). In these projects, she co-led work packages on evidence synthesis, dietary assessment and in the use of innovative community-based participatory research methods, such as the Community Readiness Model and Photovoice. From 2019-2022, she was employed as a Senior Research Associate in Public Health Nutrition within the SSEHS and worked on two large Global Health projects: 1. Strategies to Mitigate Nutritional Risks among mothers and infants under 2 years in low income urban households in Peru during COVID-19 (STAMINA) funded by the UKRI-Newton Agile Response and 2. New strategies to reduce anaemia and risk of overweight and obesity through complementary feeding of infants and young children in Peru funded by the MRC-Newton and Concytec.

Rebecca’s research interests are in the area of global health nutrition. She has research experience which has involved working in various contexts (Morocco, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Pakistan) in both infant and adult nutrition. Her work focuses on understanding the determinants of malnutrition in all its forms (both under- and overweight/obesity), diet and health in low- and middle-income countries using mixed-methods approaches. She also has interests in the nutrition transition occurring in low- and middle- income countries and in the assessment of diet and the food environment in resource-poor settings.

Current/past research projects

  • Global Postdoctoral Fellowship – Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie Actions: Tackling Multiple forms of Malnutrition In Ethiopia amongst women of reproductive age and children under five (TAMMIE) (2023-2025). Funded by Horizon Europe – European Union (300,441.59 EUR). Role: Principal Investigator. 
  • Establishing a cross-disciplinary and geographical Partnership to Explore the Challenges and Opportunities to Address the Double Burden of Malnutrition in Children and Adolescents in Ecuador (2020). Funded by the GCRF seedcorn fund (含羞草视频, UK). Role: Co-investigator.
  • Alliance Hubert Curien Researcher Mobility grant: Dietary patterns and their associations with multiple forms of malnutrition in mothers and infants in Peru (2021-2022). Funded by the British Council and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy . Role: Principal Investigator.
  • Evidence to inform complementary feeding guidelines: A systematic review of unhealthy food and beverage consumption on children under 10 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Funder: World Health Organisation. Role: Co-investigator.
  • Strategies to Mitigate Nutritional Risks among mothers and infants under 2 years in low income urban households in Peru during COVID-19 (STAMINA). Principal investigator: Emily Rousham. Funder: UKRI-Newton Agile Response EP/V034057/1. Role: Co-investigator/Researcher.
  • MRC-funded project. New strategies to reduce anaemia and risk of overweight and obesity through complementary feeding of infants and young children in Peru; 2019-2022. Role: Senior Research Associate.
  • MRC Confidence in Global Nutrition and Health Research Initiative. UK-Africa Network to Improve the Nutrition of Infants and Young Children Living in Poverty (NINO LIP) in Urbanizing Sub-Saharan African Countries; 2018-2019. Role: Co-investigator.
  • MRC-GCRF Foundation Award. TACLED project: Transitions in African Cities Leveraging Evidence for Diet-related non-communicable diseases; 2017-2019. Role: Research Fellow.
  • DFC Competitive Grants Program (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). Dietary transitions in Ghanaian cities: mapping the factors in the social and physical food environments that drive consumption of energy dense nutrient-poor foods and beverages, to identify interventions targeting women and adolescent girls throughout the reproductive life course; 2017-2019. Role: Research Fellow.
  • LANSA project: Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia. This project is a UK Department of International Development (DFID) funded project aimed at studying the impact of agricultural programmes on the nutritional status and health populations in South Asia with a particular focus on women and children. Role: Research Fellow.
  • Birth to Twenty Plus Cohort study- Africa’s largest and longest running cohort study of child and adolescent health and development. Role: Research Fellow.
  • TAHINA (Epidemiological Transition and Health Impact in North Africa), financed by the European commission. Role: Research Assistant.
  • ALIMI (Food culture and migration in France, Mali and Morocco), financed by the French National Research Council. Role: Research Assistant.
  • Consultancy for the World Health Organisation, Food and Nutrition Action in Health Systems unit, Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, 2020-21
  • International expert panel member for MEALS4NCDS project in Ghana (Providing Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability, and Leadership Support for Non-communicable Diseases Prevention), providing guidance on the Community Readiness Model tool.
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2017-present)
  • Reviewer for a range of academic journals including: BMC Public Health; Public Health Nutrition; Food Policy; Nutrients; The Journal of Nutrition; Food Security; Current Developments in Nutrition
  • Associate Editor Public Health Nutrition (journal)

Featured publications

  • Liguori, J., Trübswasser, U., Pradeilles, R., Le port, A., Landais, E., Talsma, E., Lundy, M., Bene, C., Bricas, N., Amiot-Carlin, MJ., Laar, A., Brouwer, I., Holdsworth, M. (2021). How do food safety concerns affect consumer behaviors and diets in low- and middle-income countries? A systematic review. Global Food Security. doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100606.
  • Billings, L., Pradeilles, R., Gillespie, S., Vanderkooy, A., Diatta, D., Toure, M., Diatta, A., Verstraeten, R. (2021). Coherence for nutrition: insights from nutrition-relevant policies and programmes in Burkina Faso and Nigeria. Health Policy and Planning. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czab108.
  • Pradeilles, R., Irache, A., Njeri, M., Holdsworth M., Laar, A., Zotor, F., Tandoh, A., Klomegah, S., Graham, F., Muthuri, S., Kimani-Murage, E., Graham, F., Green, M., Osei-Kwasi, H., Tandoh, A., Klomegah, S., Nathaniel, C., Green, M., Osei-Kwasi, HA., Bohr, M., Rousham, EKR., Asiki, G., Akparibo, R., Mensah, K., Aryeetey, R., Bricas, N., Griffiths, P (2021). Urban physical food environments drive dietary behaviours in Ghana and Kenya: a Photovoice study. Health and Place. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102647.
  • Pradeilles R., Holdsworth M., Olaitan O., Irache A., Osei-Kwasi H., Ngandu CB., Cohen E. (2021). Body size preferences for women and adolescent girls living in Africa: A mixed-methods systematic review. Public Health Nutrition. doi: 10.1017/S1368980021000768.
  • Laar, A., Kelly, B., Holdsworth, M., Quarpong, W., Aryeetey, R., Amevinya G., Tandoh A., Agyemang, C., Zotor, F., Laar, M.E., Mensah, K., Laryea, D., Asiki, G., Pradeilles, R., Sellen, D., L’Abbe, M., Vandevijvere, S (2021). Providing Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability, and Leadership Support for NCDs prevention in Ghana: Adapting the INFORMAS approach Frontiers in Nutrition. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.644320.
  • Osei-Kwasi, H., Laar, A., Zotor., F., Pradeilles, R., Aryeetey, R., Green., M., Kimani-Murage, E., Griffiths, P., Akparibo, R., Tandoh, A., Klomegah, S., Booth, A., Rousham, E., Mensah, K., Bricas, N., Holdsworth, M (2021).  Developing and evaluating a conceptual framework of the drivers of food choice in urban Africa. Plos One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249621.
  • Mutisya, M., Markey, O., Rousham, E.K., Chintsanya J., Pradeilles, R., Kinuthia, E., Kimani-Murage, E., Madise, N., Munthali, A., Kalimbira, A., Holdsworth, M., Bohr, M., Griffiths, P., Haycraft, E (2020). Improving nutritional status among urban poor children in sub-Saharan Africa; An evidence-informed Delphi-based consultation. Maternal and Child Nutrition. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13099.
  • Auma, C., Pradeilles, R., Blake, M., Holdsworth, M (2020). Factors Influencing Dietary Practice in a Transitioning Food Environment: A Photovoice Exploration of Four Dietary Typologies among Rural and Urban Ugandan Women. Nutrition Journal. doi: 10.1186/s12937-020-00634-9.
  • Holdsworth M, Pradeilles R, Tandoh A, Green M, Wanjohi M, Zotor F, Asiki G, Klomegah S, Abdul-Haq Z, Osei-Kwasi H, Akparibo R, Bricas N, Auma CI, Griffiths P, Laar A (2020). Unhealthy eating practices of city-dwelling Africans in deprived neighbourhoods: evidence for policy action from Ghana and Kenya. Global Food Security. doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100452.
  • Green, M.A., Pradeilles, R., Laar, A., Osei-Kwasi, H., Bricas, N., Aryeetey, R., Griffiths., P., Kimani-Murage, E., Mensah, K., Muthuri, S., Njeri, M., Zotor, F., Holdsworth, M (2020). Investigating foods and beverages sold and advertised in deprived urban neighbourhoods in Ghana and Kenya: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035680.
  • Pradeilles, R., Allen, E., Gazdar, H., Bux Mallah, H., Budhani, A., Mehmood, R., Mazhar, S., Mysorewala, A., Aslam, S., Dangour, A.D., Ferguson, E.L.(2019). Maternal BMI mediates the impact of crop-related agricultural labour on infant length in rural Pakistan: a mediation analysis of cross-sectional data. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. doi: 10.1186/s12884-019-2638-3.
  • Osei-Kwasi, H., Mohindra, A., Booth, A., Laar, A., Njeri, M., Pradeilles, R., Cohen, E., Holdsworth, M (2019). Factors influencing dietary behaviours in urban food environments in Africa: a systematic mapping review. Public Health Nutrition. doi: 10.1017/S1368980019005305.
  • Rousham, E., Pradeilles, R., Akparibo, R., Aryeetey, R., Booth, A., Osei-Kwasi, H., Muthuri, S., Kearney, C., Norris, T., Bash, K., Holdsworth, M (2019). A systematic review and meta-analysis of dietary behaviours in urban Ghana and Kenya: The TACLED project. Public Health Nutrition (in press).
  • Pradeilles, R., Kearney, C., Laar, A., Holdsworth, M., Zotor, F., Bash, K., Tandoh, A., Klomegah, S., Nathaniel, C., Griffiths, P. (2019). How ready are communities to implement actions to improve diets of adolescent girls and women in urban Ghana? BMC Public Health. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-6989-5.
  • Auma, C., Pradeilles, R., Blake, M., Holdsworth, M (2019). What can dietary patterns tell us about the nutrition transition and environmental sustainability among Ugandan women? Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu11020342
  • Pradeilles, R., Norris, T., Ferguson, E., Gazdar, H., Bux Mallah, H., Budhani, A., Mehmood, R., Mazhar, S., Mysorewala, A., Aslam, S., Dangour, A.D., Allen, E (2018). Factors associated with catch-up growth in early infancy in rural Pakistan: a longitudinal analysis of the Women’s Work and Nutrition Study. Maternal and Child Nutrition. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12733.
  • Pradeilles, R., Baye, K., Holdsworth, M (2018). Addressing malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries with double-duty actions. Proceedings of Nutrition Society. doi:10.1017/S0029665118002616.
  • Gissing, SC., Pradeilles, R., Osei-Kwasi, H., Cohen, E., Holdsworth, M (2017). Drivers of dietary behaviours in women living in urban Africa – a systematic mapping review. Public Health Nutrition. 20(12):2104-2113.
  • Pradeilles, R., Rousham, E.K., Kesten, J., Norris, S., Griffiths, P.L (2016). Community readiness for obesity prevention intervention for adolescents is low in religious communities in urban South Africa. BMC Public Health. 16: 763.
  • Traissac, P., Pradeilles, R., El Ati, J., Aounallah-Skhiri, H., Gartner, A., Delpeuch, F (2016). Within-subject non-concordance of abdominal v. general high adiposity: definition and analysis issues. British Journal of Nutrition. 116 (3): 567-568.
  • Pradeilles, R., Griffiths, P.L., Norris, S.A, Feeley, A.B, Rousham, E.K. (2015). Socio-economic influences on anthropometric status in urban South African adolescents: sex differences in the Birth to Twenty Plus cohort. Public Health Nutrition. 18(16): 2998-3012.
  • Traissac, P., Pradeilles, R., El Ati, J. et al. (2015). Abdominal vs. overall obesity in a nutrition transition context: geographic and socio-economic patterns of abdominal-only obesity in Tunisia. Population Health Metrics. 13 (1).

Book chapter