Jennifer Pomeranz

Associate Professor of Public Health Policy and Management

Professional overview

Professor Jennifer Pomeranz is a public health lawyer who researches policy and legal options to address the food environment, obesity, products that cause public harm, and social injustice that lead to health disparities.

Prior to joining the NYU faculty, Professor Pomeranz was an Assistant Professor at the School of Public Health at Temple University and in the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple. She was previously the Director of Legal Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. She has also authored numerous peer-reviewed and law review journal articles and a book, Food Law for Public Health, published by Oxford University Press in 2016.

Professor Pomeranz leads the Public Health Policy Research Lab and regularly teaches Public Health Law and Food Policy for Public Health.

"Policy is so important because it is the most effective way to influence public health. I got into public health to change the world -- to improve health and address inequities.”

Education

BA, History, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

JD, Juris Doctorate, Cornell Law School, Ithaca, NY

MPH, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA

Areas of research and study

Diet-related disease

Products that cause harm

Public Health Law

Public Health Policy

Social injustices that create health disparities

Publications

Publications

Valuing Federal Taxation Policies to Prevent Disease and Raise Revenue

Variability and limits of US state laws regulating workplace wellness programs

BMI and Healthcare Cost Impact of Eliminating Tax Subsidy for Advertising Unhealthy Food to Youth

Defining Commercial Speech in the Context of Food Marketing

Implications of the supplemental nutrition assistance program tax exemption on sugar-sweetened beverage taxes

Large-scale automated analysis of news media: A novel computational method for obesity policy research

Legal strategies to address America’s processed food problem: from public health prevention to state and local preemption

Outstanding questions in first amendment law related to food labeling disclosure requirements for health

Participatory workplace wellness programs: Reward, penalty, and regulatory conflict

Policies to promote healthy portion sizes for children

Preemption and local food and agriculture policies

Public health and legal arguments in favor of a policy to cap the portion sizes of sugar-sweetened beverages

Regulatory strategies for preventing obesity improving public health

States variations in the provision of bariatric surgery under affordable care act exchanges

The affordable care act and state coverage of clinical preventive health services for working-age adults

The dangerousmix of adolescents and dietary supplements forweight loss andmuscle building: Legal strategies for state action

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Analysis of Program Administration and Food Law Definitions

Can government regulate portion sizes?

Litigation to Address Misleading Food Label Claims and the Role of the State Attorneys General

Making the workplace a more effective site for prevention of noncommunicable diseases in adults

Sugary beverage tax policy: Lessons learned from tobacco

The Impact of ‘Food Addiction’ on Food Policy

The need for public policies to promote healthier food consumption: A comment on Wansink and Chandon (2014)

The trans-fat ban - Food regulation and long-term health

Workplace wellness programs: How regulatory flexibility might undermine success