Since 1987, faculty from the University of North Carolina have been actively involved in research on nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases (NR-NCD's), health services and an array of program and policy-oriented issues in China and elsewhere in the developing world. However, the absence of any training arm has hindered the ability of the faculty to fully develop the infrastructure for research and program and policy work in the country. At a time when one of the most rapid shifts in dietary and activity patterns and body composition is occurring. The shifts in China toward a diet dominated by saturated fat and energy density and an increasing sedentary activity profile in combination with rapid increases in overweight and other NR-NCD's are coming at a time when China is not prepared for these changes. Small efforts at interventions are occurring in selected cities and subpopulations, but no work is going on as this relates to shifts needed in the overall public health and health care system nor in other broader policies that the government can initiate to address this problem. UNC and its collaborators are global leaders in health care financing in the developing world, and in the nutrition transition and an understanding of dynamic causes of the shift in diet, activity and body composition patterns. Its collaborators are the major institutions who are in a position to impact program and policy changes related to NR-NCD's at the national level. With the assistance of the proposed training grant, UNC will be poised to help strengthen the research training related to macro policy research and implementation and related programmatic issues. This proposed training proposal focuses on this training agenda in combination with Beijing University, in particular the new Health Economics Department, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control.
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