dr. MP (Maartje) Poelman

I work as an Associate Professor at the Chair Group Consumption and Healthy Lifestyles. I have a background in Nutrition (BSh) and Public Health Sciences (MSc, PhD). My work aims to better understand the socio-ecological influences on population diets and food choices. I have particular expertise in public health nutrition, with an emphasis on prevention-oriented strategies, including policy interventions, food environmental change and systems-based approaches to support healthier, more sustainable diets. My work supports evidence-based policymaking and contributes to national public health initiatives. I am involved in national and EU-funded research projects and contribute to teaching, including the Bsc and Msc Health and Society programmes.

Research projects:

FOODPATH

FOODPATH is an European ERA4Health research consortium addressing growing dietary and health inequalities across Europe linked to unequal access to healthy food and deteriorating food environments. FOODPATH analyses the societal, commercial, and political drivers shaping food environments and dietary behaviours to identify leverage points for change and develops structural insights and policy solutions to improve food environments and promote equitable access to healthy diets across Europe.

INFOODMATION

INFOODMATION is an EU Horizon-funded project examines how media, marketing, and influencers shape food choices and uses this evidence to support more effective food communication, policies, and regulations that promote healthy and sustainable diets. At Wageningen, we use an influencer monitor to assess influencer food exposure across 16 EU countries. 

IVR FOOD ENVIRONMENT

As part of the Regio Deal Food Valley and together with WANDER lab, we developed an immersive virtual food environment that currently allows us to systematically evaluate the impact of changes in food environments and related policies in public spaces, while experimentally testing their effects on food choices and behaviour (featured in Resource).

FOOD-FRAMES

FOOD-FRAMES is a FutureFoodS EU-funded project that examines how commercial interests, ideologies, and political agendas shape food marketing and information, often at the expense of public health and sustainability. Bringing together partners from eight European countries, the project investigates exposure to online food marketing and mis/disinformation, analyses the regulatory and stakeholder dynamics that allow these practices to persist, and identifies effective legal and policy leverage points using a systems approach.