Zihan Cui

Evaluating Malnutrition Interventions on Maternal (and Infant) Health

Started June 13, 2024

Abstract or project description

Severe nutrition inequalities disproportionately hurt mothers and their children. Different nutrition interventions are conducted to address these inequalities and to improve maternal and infant health, and their efficacy needs examining to maximize impact and cost-effectiveness. This study gives an overview of nutrition interventions by categorizing nutrition interventions to three main types, cash transfer, nutrition supplements, and social and behavior change communication, reviewing previous studies based on categories, comparing benefits, and discussing associated social and cultural factors that might affect the efficiency. This study focuses on these three categories of interventions based on the scale of application and global impact. This research will help to provide guidance for improving maternal and infant health and conducting nutrition programs in a real world setting, which will be especially meaningful within a post-pandemic and conflict context.

Effectiveness and health impacts of fad diets in the short and long term: a review

Started May 26, 2023

Abstract or project description

Fad diets emerged as a way to lose weight and improve appearance. Some fad diets work by cutting one or multiple elements from dietary intake, being restrictive to different extents. Fad diets have gained enormous popularity, while it remains unknown whether the claimed benefits of a fad diet have scientific support. This review examines past studies on different fad diets, or tools, and presents these statistics to analyze the effectiveness of measures, coupled with proper instructions. This review further shows extreme fad diets can be correlated with multiple side effects, including dehydration, malnutrition, cardiovascular diseases, impaired well-being, and even eating disorders.