TAMRYN FRANK

Food Security

Tamryn is a researcher at the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) School of Public Health in South Africa (SA).

She has just completed her PhD in Public Health at UWC. She holds a Master’s degree in nutrition, human rights and governance from the University of Stellenbosch (in collaboration with Makerere University in Uganda and Oslo University in Norway). She spent 2022 as a visiting scholar at the University of North Carolina’s Global Food Research Program in the USA. Prior to this she worked for four years as a researcher at the UWC’s School of Public Health in a team that developed a nutrient profiling model and front-of-package warning labels for SA. She is directed marketing research, and assessing the effectiveness of the sugary beverage tax in SA. She is currently serving on the technical working group advising the SA National Department of Health on nutrient profiling and front-of-package labelling. Before branching out into academia, Tamryn worked as a primary health care dietitian for the SA Department of Health, both in the Eastern and Western Cape for eight years.

What is your work about?

I am involved in research that focuses on policies to improve the food environment and make healthy food choices easy and feasible for all. The focus of my PhD research has been on developing a nutrient profiling model to identify unhealthy foods in South Africa, and to evaluate the types of food low-income South Africans are consuming. I am involved in several related projects, including developing front-of-package warning labels for South Africa, and assessing different types of food marketing. This research has informed my work as part of the technical working group that advises the South African National Department of Health on nutrient profiling and front-of-package labelling. I have also been involved in assessing the effectiveness of the Health Promotion Levy (the sugary beverage tax).

How has your work contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals?

Nutrition is interrelated with so many fields, and one can find links with almost all the Sustainable Development Goals. However, goal two (to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition) and goal three (to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) resonate most closely with my research.

South Africa is facing a rising prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. There is no universally accepted definition for what an unhealthy food is. However, when it comes to implementing countrylevel food policies, it is important to have a clear definition. The nutrient profiling model I have been involved in developing identifies unhealthy foods that we should try to limit. This can be used to underpin country-level food policies, such as identifying unhealthy foods that should not be advertised to children, or foods that should carry warning labels.

How is it impacting your community?

Before becoming a researcher, I worked for eight years as a primary healthcare dietitian. However, after having to advise people, over and over again, to consume more fruit and vegetables when I knew very well that they couldn’t afford it I made the decision to move into a field that focuses on improving the food environment at a national level. I believe the entire food system in the country needs to be overhauled to improve the health and wellbeing of South Africans. I have had the privilege to be involved in work that is influencing national policy in South Africa. My PhD research has informed the Draft R2986 Regulations relating to the labelling and advertising of foodstuffs, which was published in the Government Gazette for public comment earlier this year and proposes warning labels on unhealthy foods, as well as restricting on-package marketing of unhealthy products. Additionally, as a result of my involvement in South Africa, I have been able to provide input into this area of research in the broader African region, including providing support to Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia on similar policies that they are considering to implement.