Dr Emma McMahon

Research fellow

Qualifications:

PhD, University of Queensland, 2014; Master of Nutrition and dietetics, Griffith University, 2009; Bachelor of Arts major in biomedical science, Griffith University, 2005

Location:

Brisbane

Biography:

Dr Emma McMahon is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and a joint National Health and Medical Research Council/Heart Foundation Early Career Research Fellow.

She has a doctorate in nutrition, with her doctoral research exploring dietary sodium intake and cardiovascular risk in people with chronic kidney disease.

Her post-doctoral research has focused on strategies for supporting dietary improvement in remote Indigenous Australian communities, and she is currently working on the capacity of providing timely feedback on diet quality and the food environment to support decision makers to improve food supply and access in remote Indigenous communities.

Emma’s major research interests are in population dietary assessment and monitoring, and how the food environment relates to food choice and dietary intake.

 

Research Themes
  1. Brimblecombe, J., McMahon, E., Ferguson, M., De Silva, K., Peeters, A., Miles, E., . . . Mah, C. L. (2020). Effect of restricted retail merchandising of discretionary food and beverages on population diet: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(10), e463-e473. doi:10.1016/s2542-5196(20)30202-3
  2. McMahon, E. J., Jaenke, R., & Brimblecombe, J. (2020). A Mobile App to Rapidly Appraise the In-Store Food Environment: Reliability, Utility, and Construct Validity Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, 8(7), e16971. doi:10.2196/16971
  3. Greenacre, L., Akbar, S., Brimblecombe, J., & McMahon, E. (2020). Income Management of Government Payments on Welfare: The Australian Cashless Debit Card. Australian Social Work, 1-14. doi:10.1080/0312407X.2020.1817961
  4. Jaenke, R., van den Boogaard, C., McMahon, E., & Brimblecombe, J. (2020). Development and pilot of a tool to measure the healthiness of the in-store food environment. Public Health Nutrition, In press,  1-10. doi:10.1017/S1368980020002025
  5. Thomas, D. P., McMahon, E., Wang, Z., Scollo, M. M., & Durkin, S. J. (2020). Impact of three annual tobacco tax rises on tobacco sales in remote Australian Aboriginal community stores. Tobacco Control, tobaccocontrol-2020-055865. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055865
  6. McMahon, E., Wycherley, T., O'Dea, K., & Brimblecombe, J. (2017). A comparison of dietary estimates from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey to food and beverage purchase data. Aust N Z J Public Health, 41(6), 598-603. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12718
  7. McMahon, E., Webster, J., & Brimblecombe, J. (2017). Effect of 25% Sodium Reduction on Sales of a Top-Selling Bread in Remote Indigenous Australian Community Stores: A Controlled Intervention Trial. Nutrients, 9(3). doi: 10.3390/nu9030214
  8. McMahon, E., Clarke, R., Jaenke, R., & Brimblecombe, J. (2016). Detection of 12.5% and 25% Salt Reduction in Bread in a Remote Indigenous Australian Community. Nutrients, 8(3). doi: 10.3390/nu8030169
  9. McMahon, E., Webster, J., O’Dea, K., & Brimblecombe, J. (2015). Dietary sodium and iodine in remote Indigenous Australian communities: will salt-reduction strategies increase risk of iodine deficiency? A cross-sectional analysis and simulation study. BMC Public Health, 15, 1318. doi: 10.1186/s12889-015-2686-1
  10. McMahon, E., Bauer, J., Hawley, C., Isbel, N., Stowasser, M., Johnson, D., & Campbell, K. (2013). A randomized trial of dietary sodium restriction in CKD. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 24(12), 2096-2103. doi: 10.1681/asn.2013030285
  1. Empowering remote communities - Healthy Stores 2020

    Empowering remote communities - Healthy Stores 2020

    Date

    Reducing in-store merchandising of unhealthy foods and drinks can reduce the purchase of those items, new research conducted in remote communities has found.

  2. NITV |Remote Healthy Stores trial hailed a success

    NITV |Remote Healthy Stores trial hailed a success

    Date

    The project was developed after community concern about the high rates of type two diabetes and obesity, and involves making changes like moving soft drinks from the fridge to the shelf and taking sugary snacks away from busy sections of stores.

  3. Indigenous Australians under-reporting the amount of ‘unhealthy foods’ they consume

    Indigenous Australians under-reporting the amount of ‘unhealthy foods’ they consume

    Date

    There is an urgent need to better track community nutrition to support policymakers in improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote communities.

  4. Tracking nutrition found to be vital - Koori Mail

    Tracking nutrition found to be vital - Koori Mail

    Date

    MEASURING what people eat is important for informing food and nutrition policy and programs, according to research from Menzies School of Health Research published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health

  5. Food data vital - Centralian Advocate

    Food data vital - Centralian Advocate

    Date

    THERE is a need to track community nutrition over time using food and beverage data to help improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities, according to new research.

  6. Tracking food and beverage purchases in remote NT communities

    Tracking food and beverage purchases in remote NT communities

    Date

    Measuring what people eat is important for informing food and nutrition policy and programs, according to research from Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies) published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.