Urban food environments play a critical role in shaping dietary behavior and long-term health outcomes. This online lecture explores how changes to the food environments in cities can reduce the risk of chronic disease, drawing on real-world interventions that combine education, community engagement, environmental design and policy action. Using examples such as the Baltimore Healthy Food project, the session highlights practical strategies for improving access to healthier food options and discusses how digital tools and systems-based approaches are being used to strengthen food systems at scale.

The lecture is hosted by Tokyo College and is part of its ongoing public lecture series focused on global challenges and interdisciplinary research. The session is open to the public and is suitable for researchers, policymakers, health professionals, students and anyone with an interest in urban health and food systems.

Lecturer

Dr Joel Gittelsohn is a medical anthropologist and public health nutritionist, and a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His research focuses on preventing chronic disease by improving urban food environments through community-based interventions and policy-relevant work.

Commentator

Dr Inada Haruhiko is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Medicine at The University of Tokyo, with expertise in epidemiology, health policy and public health program evaluation, bringing a population health perspective to the discussion.

Moderator

Dr Oshima Marie is Deputy Director of Tokyo College and a professor at The University of Tokyo, providing interdisciplinary leadership and guiding the discussion and audience participation.