School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
Faculty of HMNBS
| Dr. Catherine Burns | ||
| Position | Senior Research Fellow | |
| cate.burns@deakin.edu.au | ||
| Area | Public Health Research Cluster | |
| Phone | +61 3 925 17273 | |
| Campus | Burwood | |
| Role and Profile | Dr Cate Burns is a Senior Research Fellow in the WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention and Related Research and Training. She is a public health nutritionist with 15 years experience in obesity research. Over the last 10 years, Dr Burns has developed expertise in food insecurity, obesity and nutrition in vulnerable groups. She is currently pursuing a number of lines of enquiry using a variety of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to examine food insecurity and the overlap between poverty and obesity. Her current research investigates: socio-economic differences in the values and norms around food, food preparation and health; how food availability, food cost and income impact on household food expenditure; interventions to prevent obesity in low income or food insecure groups; and the impact of food insecurity and health. | |
| Teaching Responsibilities | 2 PhD students, 2 Honours students, Master of Applied Science, Guest lecturer MPH | |
| Research Interests |
Qualitative studies of norms, values and skills around food, food preparation and health, and examining how these ideas and beliefs relate to socio-economic status Dr Burns has developed a program of multidisciplinary research with an anthropologist, sociologist and psychologists to examine the values, attitudes and beliefs and skills around food, food preparation and health. This work has been extended to study the role of children in food choice and food preparation. The primary focus of this qualitative research is to examine socio-economic (SES) differences in determinants of food choice in order to enable nutrition promotion to be better targeted to the value and beliefs systems of both low and high SES groups. Use of geographical (GIS) mapping, food cost data including Consumer Price Index (CPI) data and household food expenditure data to examine relationship between food cost, income and financial stress and the nutritional quality of household food expenditure Dr Burns has undertaken a food mapping study in South Eastern Melbourne that indicated the availability of healthy foods was not related to relative advantage of a neighbourhood but that fast food outlets were more prevalent in poorer neighbourhoods. She has developed a program of research to examine the impact of income on the nutritional quality of household food expenditure. This work, in conjunction with the studies of food cost, which Dr Burns has undertaken with Lisa Gold, Deakin Health Economics, and Gary Sacks, also from Deakin University, will form the basis for the development of budgetary standards for the food and will inform social and public health policy. Multidisciplinary research collaboration of nutrition, economics and policy to examine economic and other interventions to address obesity in disadvantaged populations With Professors Kostas Mavromaras and Tony Scott from the Melbourne Institute for Economic and Social Research, Dr Burns has developed a program of research around the economic modelling of policy interventions to prevent obesity in low income families. This is a unique collaboration between a nutritionist (Dr Burns), economists and a policy analyst to examine the economic drivers and possible solutions for poor nutritional food choices in Australian populations. This research is funded by an ARC Linkage grant with VicHealth as the industry partner. Use of national data sets (Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) and Household Income Longitudinal Dynamics Analyses (HILDA) in studies of the impact of food insecurity and financial stress on food choice, obesity and health Dr Burns has used a number of large national data sets to examine the relationship between food insecurity and obesity in children; the prevalence of indicators of food insecurity in Melbourne and their impact on health and food purchase; and, using the HILDA data set, the relationship between financial hardship, mental wellbeing and obesity. These analyses aim to determine the role of financial stress and food insecurity as a mediator or moderator for mental and physical wellbeing and to indicate how social and economic policies might be used to reduce obesity in low SES children and adults. |
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| Service to the University, discipline or community |
Director Second Bite Food for people in need, www.secondbite.org |
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| Awards |
2006 Vichealth Public Health Research Fellowship 2006-2010 1997 Public Health Research Development Council (PHRDC) Travelling Research Fellowship |
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| Memberships |
1998-2009 Public Health Association of Australia Current member, Immediate past Convenor Food and Nutrition Special Interest Group 1993-2009 Australian New Zealand Society for the Study of Obesity Current member, Past Council member and Honorary Secretary 1998-2009 Nutrition Society of Australia Current member |
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| Conferences |
Burns C, Cook 2008 The determinants of food purchase in low income families (Population Health Congress, Brisbane) Burns C, ORourke 2008 The experience of food insecurity in two parent families (Population Health Congress, Brisbane) Burns C, Bentley R, Kavagher A 2008 The prevalence of indicators of food insecurity in Mellbourne , Australian Public Health Nutrition Academic Collaboration (APHNAC), Adelaide Burns C, Mavaromaras K, Goode A 2008 The relationship between income and financial stress, mental well being and obesity (Margins to mainstream, Melbourne) Friel S, Gold L, Burns C 2007 Dietary inequalities in Australia: an analysis of income-related differences in household expenditure from 1998-1999 to 2003-2004. Australian Public Health Nutrition Academic Collaboration (APHNAC) Public Health Nutrition Conference, Brisbane Burns C, Cook K 2007 The experience of food insecurity in single parent families Australian Public Health Nutrition Academic Collaboration (APHNAC) Public Health Nutrition Conference, Brisbane Burns C, Inglis 2006 The Relationship between the Availability of Healthy and Fast Food and Neighbourhood Level Socio-Economic Deprivation: A Case Study from Melbourne, Australia. Obesity Reviews Vol 7 Issue s2 pg 39 September 2006 Lewandowski P, Kousar R, Burns C 2005 Changes to diet and physical activity have potential to treat metabolic syndrome in female Pakistani immigrants. Oral presentation. Annual Scientific Meeting, Nutrition Society of Australia, November 30th to 2nd December, Melbourne. Burns CM, Inglis A 2005 Access to a healthy diet and fast foods in the City of Casey. Oral presentation. Annual Scientific Meeting, Australasian Society for the Study of Obesity, October 28th to 30th, Adelaide Kousar R, Burns C, Lewandowski P 2004 The development of a culturally appropriate lifestyle intervention for a migrant population at high risk of metabolic syndrome. 2nd Annual World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Los Angeles, USA. Lewandowski P, Kousar R, Burns C 2004 Changes to diet and physical activity have potential to treat metabolic syndrome in female Pakistani immigrants. 2nd Annual World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Los Angeles, USA. Wood B, Swinburn B, Burns C 2004 Achieving sustainable strategies to improve food security International Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education, Melbourne Whitelaw M, Passador J, OLoughlan N, Deppeler L, Milner S, Burns C 2004 Nutrition education for Disability Support Worker Annual Scientific Meeting Dietitians Association of Australia, Melbourne Wood B, Burns C 2004 Eating well in Victoria Food Security for all through a whole of population approach International Congress of Dietetics, Chicago |
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| Publications | Burns C 2008 Policy Forum: a multidisciplinary view of obesity. The Vulnerable and the Disadvantaged. The Aust. Economic Review 41(1):1-7 Burns C, Sacks G, Gold L: 2008 Longitudinal study of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) changes in core and non-core foods in Australia. ANZJPH 32(5);449-452 Oldroyd J, Burns C, Lucas P, Haikerwal A, Waters E 2008 The effectiveness of nutrition interventions on dietary outcomes by relative social disadvantage: systematic review. J Epidem Community Health 62(7);573-579 Burns C, Inglis A. 2007 Measuring food access in Melbourne: Access to healthy and fast foods by car, bus and food in an urban municipality in Melbourne. Health and Place (doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.02.005). Laurence S, Peterken R, Burns C 2007 Fresh Kids: The efficacy of a Health Promoting Schools approach to increasing the consumption of fruit and water. Health Promotion International (doi;10.1093/heapro/dam016). | |
| Research Link | View Deakin Associated Research Data | |
| Biography | View Biography as a pdf ( 3.4MB - opens in a new Window) | |
| Highest Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy University of Sydney Completed: 31-DEC-93 | |