About

Ana Baylin, MD, DrPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Global Public Health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the nutritional determinants of cardiometabolic risk in both low- and high-income countries. She investigates how dietary patterns influence the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome, with particular interest in dietary components such as organic food consumption and ultraprocessed foods. Dr. Baylin collaborates on global health studies, including the ELEMENT and Costa Rican Heart Study, to evaluate nutritional factors affecting cardiometabolic health. Domestically, she works with SWAN investigators to examine the impact of dietary patterns and ultraprocessed foods, and she is evaluating the effects of organic food consumption on cardiometabolic risk using data from the Health and Retirement Study. Her work includes developing interventions to prevent cardiometabolic risk at the work site level, utilizing tools such as dynamic standing desks and skylight simulators. She holds degrees from Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Alcala de Henares in Madrid, Spain, and her research interests encompass nutrition, built environment, and chronic disease.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Endocrinology
• Gerontology
• Food science
• Physiology
• Psychiatry
• Chemistry
• Demography

Selected publications

• Associations between food insecurity and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation with ultra-processed food acquisitions for home consumption in US households

  Public Health Nutrition · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Objective: Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are shown to promote disease. Research shows high UPF intake with food insecurity and SNAP participation. However, no research has quantitatively examined UPF acquisitions (which includes purchases) by food insecurity and SNAP status in US households. This analysis examines food insecurity and SNAP participation with UPF acquisitions for home consumption. Design: Food insecurity was assessed through the ten-item Adult Food Security Survey. Household SNAP participation was considered affirmative if any member of the household reported receiving SNAP benefits. Household UPF acquisitions/purchases for home consumption (as a percentage of total energy acquired/purchased) were determined by the NOVA classification system. Multivariable linear regressions adjusted for household sociodemographic characteristics quantified associations between food insecurity and SNAP participation with UPF acquisitions for home consumption in US households. Setting: The USA. Participants: 3949 households from the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey. Results: 15·5 % and 13·9 % of US households experienced marginal food security and food insecurity, respectively. Adjusted means for UPF acquisition for home consumption across food security and SNAP categories ranged from 53·2 % to 57·0 %. Marginal food security was associated with 3·8 % higher UPF acquisitions for home consumption ( P = 0·0039) compared with households with high food security. However, there was no association with food insecurity or SNAP. Conclusions: UPF acquisitions for home consumption were high for US households across food security and SNAP categories. Marginal food security was associated with higher UPF acquisitions for home consumption in US households. However, we observed no associations between food insecurity and SNAP participation with UPF acquisitions. More research on drivers of this association for households with marginal food security should be conducted.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 26-A-11751-ACC ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DIET PATTERNS AND PROGRESSION OF CORONARY ARTERY CALCIFICATION: THE MULTI-ETHNIC STUDY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2026-03-27

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Corrigendum to “Climate change-related exposures, low birthweight, and preterm birth: Overview of reviews protocol”. [Environ. Int. 202 (2025) 109704]

  Environment International · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Metal exposures and their interactions with the dietary inflammatory index on inflammatory biomarkers in Mexican adolescents

  Environmental Epidemiology · 2026-01-22

  articleOpen access

  Background: Heavy metals, like lead, arsenic, and cadmium, are linked to increased inflammation even in early life; however, anti-inflammatory diets may offset these effects. Methods: We evaluated associations between heavy metals and inflammatory biomarkers, and potential effect modification by diet in 399 adolescents aged 10 to 18 at baseline who attended two study visits 2 years apart (773 observations). At baseline, blood lead, urinary arsenic, and cadmium concentrations were measured, and the Children’s Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII) was calculated. Fasting serum interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were measured for both visits. Generalized estimating equation models were fit to assess associations between metal concentrations and repeatedly measured inflammatory biomarkers, adjusting for study visit and baseline sociodemographic and lifestyle variables. Effect modification by diet was assessed by including metal and C-DII tertiles interaction terms. Results: At baseline, the median age was 13.6 years, 50.4% were females, and 51.1% had a low socioeconomic status. Overall, there were no associations between metals and inflammatory markers in the entire population. In the most anti-inflammatory diet group (C-DII T1), higher blood lead was associated with higher IL-4, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 levels, whereas for the most pro-inflammatory diet (C-DII T3), these associations were inverse ( P -trend <0.05). Contrarily, higher urinary arsenic was associated with lower IL-4, IL-6, and IL-8 levels in the anti-inflammatory diet group and positively associated with these cytokines in the pro-inflammatory diet group ( P -trend <0.05). Conclusion: Anti-inflammatory diets may modify adolescents’ inflammatory response to lead and arsenic. Heavy metal toxicity mitigation by anti-inflammatory diets requires further research.

  PublisherDOI

• Associations between repeated measures of exposure to phthalates, phenols, parabens, and their mixtures and metabolic syndrome in midlife women in Mexico city

  Environmental Research · 2026-03-25

  article
  PublisherDOI

• National Food Expenditure Patterns of the Nutrition Transition in Ghana and Differences by Fish and Seafood Diversity

  Journal of Nutrition · 2025-04-15 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Associations between Food Insecurity and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation with ultra-processed food intake in lower-income U.S. adolescents

  Journal of Nutritional Science · 2025-01-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have negative health consequences. Food insecurity and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are associated with higher UPF intake in U.S. adults, but this has not been examined in U.S. adolescents. This study assesses associations between food security status and SNAP participation with UPF intake in 3,067 adolescents aged 12-19 years with household incomes at or below 300% of the federal poverty line from the 2007-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. UPF is defined using the Nova classification and measured as a percentage of daily total energy intake (TEI). High food security, marginal food security, or food insecurity status was determined through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's eighteen-item Household Food Security Survey. SNAP participation was deemed affirmative if the household reported receiving SNAP benefits in the last year. Multivariable linear regressions that controlled for TEI and sociodemographic covariates and accounted for the complex survey design examined associations between food insecurity and SNAP participation with UPF intake. In the sample, the prevalence of marginal food security was 15.9%, the prevalence of food insecurity was 33.8%, and the prevalence of SNAP participation was 36.5%. After multivariate adjustment, there were no significant differences in UPF intake by food security status. Adolescents participating in SNAP consumed 2.7% higher UPF intake (95% CI: 0.1%, 5.2%, p = 0.04) compared to adolescents not participating in SNAP. Among lower-income U.S. adolescents, SNAP participation but not food security status was associated with higher UPF intake. Programs and policies promoting the intake of more healthful, minimally processed foods should be strengthened.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Associations Between Coparenting Quality, the Home Food Environment, and Child’s Body Mass Index

  Childhood Obesity · 2025-01-22 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background: Although positive coparenting, or how parents relate during childrearing, is known to support children’s socioemotional development, the role of coparenting in supporting children’s healthy eating and growth is poorly understood. This study examined associations between coparenting quality, the home food environment, and young children’s body mass index (BMI). Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 290 mothers and their 3-year-old children who participated in the Sprout study. Mothers who indicated they had a coparent in their household completed surveys to assess coparenting quality, food parenting practices, family mealtime routines and structure, and home food availability. Mothers also reported the foods served at two typical meals, and a healthy meal index (HMI) score was calculated to assess the nutritional quality of meals. Children’s height and weight were measured and used to calculate BMI z-scores (BMIz). Results: Mothers who reported more positive coparenting also reported providing children more guidance for healthy eating (β = 0.15, p < 0.001), less use of food to control children’s emotions (β = −0.15, p < 0.01), less use of food as a reward (β = −0.27, p < 0.01), more structured mealtimes (β = 0.22, p < 0.001), and more household availability of fruits and vegetables (β = 0.11, p < 0.01). Mothers who reported greater coparent agreement on childrearing also had children with lower BMIz (β = −0.11, p = 0.03). Mothers who reported greater endorsement of their partner’s childrearing competency had a higher mean HMI score (β = 1.82, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Among dual-parent, highly resourced families with young children, stronger coparenting practices were associated with several food-related parenting practices that support healthy eating and weight among young children.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Healthy Eating Index Is Associated With Lower Clinical Markers-Based Phenotypic Age in Participants of NHANES 2009–2012

  Current Developments in Nutrition · 2025-05-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Higher dietary diversity and appropriate gestational weight gain reduce the risk of low birth weight: a prospective cohort study

  Nutrition Journal · 2025-10-06 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Low dietary diversity can contribute to undernutrition, impacting gestational weight gain (GWG) and increasing the risk of low birth weight (LBW). OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the relationships between maternal dietary diversity, dietary quality, GWG, and LBW in a cohort of singleton pregnant mothers in Jordan. It was hypothesized that higher dietary diversity and appropriate GWG would correlate with a reduced likelihood of LBW and that "minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W)" and "prime diet quality scores (PDQS) " would have both indirect and direct effects on birth weight, mediated by GWG. METHODS: The prospective study involved 198 singleton pregnant mothers aged 19 to 45, segmented into three groups by trimester (66 women per trimester). Dietary diversity was assessed using the MDD-W and the PDQS. GWG was classified as appropriate, excess, or inadequate based on pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). Birth weights, lengths, and head circumferences of neonates were measured. RESULTS: Mothers with MDD-W > 5 and PDQS > 21 had significantly higher average birth weights and lengths compared to those with lower scores (MDD-W: 3.1 ± 0.6 vs. 2.6 ± 0.5 kg; PDQS: 3.0 ± 0.6 vs. 2.6 ± 0.5 kg; MDD-W: 49.8 ± 1.7 vs. 48.1 ± 1.7 cm; PDQS: 49.2 ± 1.8 vs. 48.1 ± 1.8 cm). Significant predictors of LBW included GWG for pre-pregnancy BMI, previous LBW deliveries, PDQS, and family income. Inadequate GWG was significantly associated with LBW. GWG significantly mediated the relationship between MDD-W (B = 0.067, P < 0.001, 95% CI [0.059-0.076]), PDQS (B = 0.069, P < 0.001, 95% CI [0.06-0.077]), and birth weight. Each score increase in MDD-W was associated with a 0.141 kg increase in birth weight (B = 0.141, P < 0.001, 95% CI [0.093-0.189]), compared to a 0.041 kg increase for each PDQS score (B = 0.041, P < 0.001, 95% CI [0.025-0.058]). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that both MDD-W and PDQS are associated with birth weight, with higher scores correlating with increased GWG and birth weight. Notably, dietary diversity and GWG relative to pre-pregnancy BMI emerged as robust predictors of birth weight at delivery.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01HL081549

  NIH · $1.9M · 2012

Frequent coauthors

• Hannia Campos

  Universidad Hispanoamerica

  301 shared

• Edmond K. Kabagambe

  Ochsner Health System

  106 shared

• Xinia Siles

  Instituto Centroamericano de Administración Pública

  83 shared

• Eduardo Villamor

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  80 shared

• Sonia Hernández–Dı́az

  Harvard University

  76 shared

• Mercedes Mora‐Plazas

  Universidad Nacional de Colombia

  46 shared

• Stephen T. McGarvey

  Providence College

  45 shared

• Jian Gong

  Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

  38 shared

Education

• DrPH, Nutrition

  Harvard School of Public Health

  2002

• MSc, Epidemiology

  Harvard School of Public Health

  1999

• Residency in Preventive Medicine, Preventive Medicine

  Hospital Universitario La Paz

  1996

• MPH

  Escuela Nacional de Sanidad

  1994

• MD

  Universidad de Alcalá de Henares Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud

  1993