University of California San Francisco
Department of Medicine
3333 California, Suite 465
San Francisco,
CA
USA
94118
Email:
laraiab@chc.ucsf.edu
Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Laraia is a public health nutrition investigator with a special interest in the relationships between food policy, the food environment and health. She has expertise in qualitative methods, program evaluation, community-based research and nutritional epidemiology. Her research focuses on household food security status and neighborhood effects on diet, weight, perinatal outcomes, and other maternal child health issues, especially among vulnerable populations. Current projects include: measurement issues of the food and physical activity environments; influences of the food environment on diet and weight among postpartum women; understanding the role that tiendas (Latino grocery stores) play in diet quality among Latinos.
Selected publications:
Jilcott SB, Laraia BA, Evenson KR, Ammerman AS. Perceptions of the community
food environment and related influences on food choice among midlife women
residing in rural and urban areas: a qualitative analysis. Women Health. 2009
Mar-May;49(2-3):164-80.
Laraia BA, Borja JB, Bentley ME. Grandmothers, fathers, and depressive
symptoms are associated with food insecurity among low-income first-time
African-American mothers in North Carolina. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009
Jun;109(6):1042-7.
Laraia BA, Siega-Riz AM, Dole N, London E. Pregravid weight is associated with
prior dietary restraint and psychosocial factors during pregnancy. Obesity
(Silver Spring). 2009 Mar;17(3):550-8.
Messer LC, Kaufman JS, Mendola P, Laraia BA. Black-white preterm birth
disparity: a marker of inequality. Ann Epidemiol. 2008 Nov;18(11):851-8. PubMed
Messer LC, Vinikoor LC, Laraia BA, Kaufman JS, Eyster J, Holzman C, Culhane J,
Elo I, Burke JG, O'Campo P. Socioeconomic domains and associations with preterm
birth. Soc Sci Med. 2008 Oct;67(8):1247-57.
O'Campo P, Burke JG, Culhane J, Elo IT, Eyster J, Holzman C, Messer LC,
Kaufman JS, Laraia BA. Neighborhood deprivation and preterm birth among
non-Hispanic Black and White women in eight geographic areas in the United
States. Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Jan 15;167(2):155-63.
Laraia B, Messer L, Evenson K, Kaufman JS. Neighborhood factors associated
with physical activity and adequacy of weight gain during pregnancy. J Urban
Health. 2007 Nov;84(6):793-806.
Jilcott SB, Laraia BA, Evenson KR, Lowenstein LM, Ammerman AS. A guide for
developing intervention tools addressing environmental factors to improve diet
and physical activity. Health Promot Pract. 2007 Apr;8(2):192-204.
Laraia BA, Bodnar LM, Siega-Riz AM. Pregravid body mass index is negatively
associated with diet quality during pregnancy. Public Health Nutr. 2007
Sep;10(9):920-6.
Jilcott SB, Evenson KR, Laraia BA, Ammerman AS. Association between physical
activity and proximity to physical activity resources among low-income, midlife
women. Prev Chronic Dis. 2007 Jan;4(1):A04.