Rate My Professor Anne-Louise Heath

Anne-Louise Heath is a Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She holds a BSc(Hons), BA(Hons), and PhD from the University of Otago. Her research specializations include iron nutrition, infant nutrition, and the use of food-based strategies to improve nutritional status and health. As Co-Principal Investigator, she leads the Health Research Council-funded First Foods New Zealand (FFNZ) study, which examines the impact of baby food pouches and baby-led weaning on iron deficiency, growth, choking, and dental health in infants. She also co-leads the Ministry for Primary Industries-funded Young Foods New Zealand (YFNZ) study on diets of children aged 1–4 years and serves as an Investigator on the Prevention of Overweight in Infancy (POI) randomized controlled trial assessing effects of infant diet and sleep on growth. Other projects under her involvement are the Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS (BLISS) study on benefits and risks of baby-led complementary feeding, the “A Good Night's Sleep” study investigating gut microbiota's influence on infant sleep, and the Toddler Food Study evaluating dietary interventions to prevent iron and micronutrient deficiencies in toddlers.

In teaching, Professor Heath coordinates HUNT 241 Fundamentals of Nutrients and Health, HUNT 242 Nutritional Assessment, and HUNT 454 Nutritional Biostatistics, and supervises postgraduate students. She is a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the Development of the New Zealand Nutrition Survey and was previously a member of the Ministry of Health's Technical Advisory Group for the Review of Nutrition Guidance for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women, and Infants and Toddlers. Her team's research has been cited by international health agencies. Key publications include Katiforis et al. (2026), 'Navigating infant feeding in the context of household food insecurity: A qualitative study of New Zealand mothers,' Journal of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics; Katiforis et al. (2025), 'Household food insecurity, nutrient intakes and BMI in New Zealand infants,' Public Health Nutrition; Cox et al. (2025), 'Video-measured fullness cues in baby-led weaned and traditionally spoon-fed infants and subsequent intake,' Appetite; and Taylor et al. (2025), 'Long-term follow-up of the impact of brief sleep and lifestyle interventions in infancy on BMI z-score at 11 years of age: The POI randomized controlled trial,' Pediatric Obesity.