Marie Bragg

Assistant Professor of Public Health Nutrition

Professional overview

Dr. Marie Bragg’s work focuses on identifying and affecting environmental and social factors associated with obesity, food marketing, and health disparities.

Trained as a Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Bragg  utilizes psychology and public health research methods to study food policy and obesity, and her research advocates for changes in US food policy and population-level solutions - not only individual behavior change. Her research has examined the impact of racially targeted food and beverage marketing on adolescents; catalogued the food and beverage industry’s use of music celebrity and professional athlete endorsements in promoting unhealthy products; evaluated various marketing techniques used on packaged foods in supermarkets and outdoor advertisements; and assessed how labeling and intrapersonal and social factors influence food and beverage preferences. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the NYC Department of Health, and has resulted in numerous peer-reviewed articles.

At the SeedProgram, Dr. Bragg conducts research on obesity, health disparities, and international and domestic food policy, in order to provide policymakers and organizations with evidence-based guidance on improving the world’s diet and health outcomes. Her research program allows students to collect data, conduct qualitative coding analyses, assist with manuscript development and grant submissions, and draft IRB applications. Additionally, her students have published papers and posters, and received funding for their own projects.

Education

BS, Psychology and BA, English, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

MS, Clinical Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT

MPhil, Clinical Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Clinical Internship, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY

PhD, Clinical Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Honors and awards

Jane Olejarczyk Award, Yale University (2012)

Yale Graduate Teaching Center Fellowship, Yale University (2012)

Yale University Dissertation Fellowship, Yale University (2012)

William Kessen Teaching Award, Yale University (2011)

Areas of research and study

Food

Nutrition

Obesity

Public Health Nutrition

Public Health Policy

Publications

Publications

Menu Labeling and Calories Purchased in Restaurants in a US National Fast Food Chain

Rummo, P. E., Mijanovich, T., Wu, E., Heng, L., Hafeez, E., Bragg, M. A., Jones, S. A., Weitzman, B. C., & Elbel, B. (n.d.).

Publication year

2023

Journal title

JAMA network open

Volume

6

Issue

12

Page(s)

E2346851

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.46851

Abstract

Abstract

Importance: Menu labeling has been implemented in restaurants in some US jurisdictions as early as 2008, but the extent to which menu labeling is associated with calories purchased is unclear. Objective: To estimate the association of menu labeling with calories and nutrients purchased and assess geographic variation in results. Design, Setting, and Participants: A cohort study was conducted with a quasi-experimental design using actual transaction data from Taco Bell restaurants from calendar years 2007 to 2014 US restaurants with menu labeling matched to comparison restaurants using synthetic control methods. Data were analyzed from May to October 2023. Exposure: Menu labeling policies in 6 US jurisdictions. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was calories per transaction. Secondary outcomes included total and saturated fat, carbohydrates, protein, sugar, fiber, and sodium. Results: The final sample included 2329 restaurants, with menu labeling in 474 (31468 restaurant-month observations). Most restaurants (94.3%) were located in California. Difference-in-differences model results indicated that customers purchased 24.7 (95% CI, 23.6-25.7) fewer calories per transaction from restaurants in the menu labeling group in the 3- to 24-month follow-up period vs the comparison group, including 21.9 (95% CI, 20.9-22.9) fewer calories in the 3- to 12-month follow-up period and 25.0 (95% CI, 24.0-26.1) fewer calories in the 13- to 24-month follow-up period. Changes in the nutrient content of transactions were consistent with calorie estimates. Findings in California were similar to overall estimates in magnitude and direction; yet, among restaurants outside of California, no association was observed in the 3- to 24-month period. The outcome of menu labeling also differed by item category and time of day, with a larger decrease in the number of tacos vs other items purchased and a larger decrease in calories purchased during breakfast vs other times of the day in the 3- to 24-month period. Conclusions and Relevance: In this quasi-experimental cohort study, fewer calories were purchased in restaurants with calorie labels compared with those with no labels, suggesting that consumers are sensitive to calorie information on menu boards, although associations differed by location..

Food and Beverage Product Appearances in Educational, Child-Targeted YouTube Videos

Tsai, K. A., Pan, P., Liang, C., Stent-Torriani, A., Prat, L., Cassidy, O., Pomeranz, J. L., & Bragg, M. A. (n.d.).

Publication year

2022

Journal title

Childhood Obesity

Volume

18

Issue

8

Page(s)

515-522

10.1089/chi.2021.0232

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Food advertisement exposure is associated with children's increased caloric intake, but little is known about food/beverage placements in child-oriented educational YouTube videos. We aimed to quantify the prevalence of food/beverages in these videos and assess their nutritional quality. Methods: Researchers identified child-oriented educational YouTube videos from 2020, using keyword searches. We coded the names of featured food/beverages, coded how the food/beverages were interacted with, quantified the number of minutes the food/beverages appeared, and assessed the nutritional quality of the food/beverages. Results: A sample of 400 videos with the highest number of views was identified, 165 of which featured food/beverages. These 165 videos were collectively viewed over 1.1 billion times. Among these videos, 108 (67.4%) featured unhealthy foods and 86 (52.1%) featured branded products. Most food/beverages were used in experiment/tutorials (n = 143, 86.7%). Of the 165 videos featuring food/beverages, 91 (55.2%) did not depict food/beverages in their video thumbnail. Conclusions: While unhealthy food/beverages appear frequently in child-oriented educational YouTube videos, parents and teachers may not be aware of the presence of branded food/beverage products in these videos that could influence their children's food and brand preferences. The Federal Trade Commission should collect data on food and beverage company sponsorship of educational videos aimed at children and adolescents.

Comparing McDonald’s food marketing practices on official Instagram accounts across 15 countries

Student-led research team-building program may help junior faculty increase productivity in competitive biomedical research environment

Bragg, M., Arshonsky, J., Pageot, Y., Eby, M., Tucker, C. M., Yin, S., Goldmann, E., & Jay, M. (n.d.).

Publication year

2021

Journal title

BMC Medical Education

Volume

21

Issue

1

10.1186/s12909-020-02396-8

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Interdisciplinary research teams can increase productivity among academic researchers, yet many junior investigators do not have the training or financial resources to build productive teams. We developed and tested the acceptability and feasibility of three low-cost services to help junior faculty build and maintain their own research teams. Methods: At an urban academic medical centre, we implemented three types of consultation services: 1) giving talks on evidence-based best practices for building teams; 2) providing easy-to-use team building resources via email; and 3) offering a year-long consultation service—co-led by students—that taught faculty to build and maintain research teams. Our primary outcome was the number of faculty who used each service. For the yearlong consultation service, we asked faculty participants to complete three online self-assessments to rate their leadership confidence, the team’s performance, and which of the consultation components were most helpful. We used descriptive statistics to evaluate faculty assessment scores at three timepoints by comparing median scores and interquartile ranges. Results: We gave 31 talks on team building to 328 faculty and postdoctoral fellows from 2014 to 2020. Separately, 26 faculty heard about our research team building expertise and requested materials via email. For the consultation service, we helped build or enhance 45 research teams from 2014 to 2020. By the end of the consultation, 100% of the faculty reported they were still maintaining their team. In the initial survey, the majority of participants (95.7%, n = 22) reported having no or few experiences in building teams. Further, when asked to rate their team’s performance at 12-months, faculty highly rated many elements of both teamwork and taskwork, specifically their team’s productivity (6/7 points), morale (6/7 points), and motivation (6/7 points). By the end of the program, faculty participants also highly rated two components of the consultation program: recruitment assistance (7/10 points) and provision of team management tools (7/10 points). Conclusions: For participating faculty, our program provided valued guidance on recruitment assistance and team management tools. The high demand for team-building resources suggests that junior faculty urgently need better training on how to develop and manage their own team.

Child Social Media Influencers and Unhealthy Food Product Placement

A content analysis of outdoor non-alcoholic beverage advertisements in Ghana

Comparison of online marketing techniques on food and beverage companies' websites in six countries

Perceived spatial stigma, body mass index and blood pressure: A global positioning system study among low-income housing residents in New York City