Kristen Borre
Professor Borre’s anthropological training is in bio-cultural anthropology with specializations in nutritional anthropology, medical anthropology and public health and human ecology and evolution. While working as a public health nutritionist and nutrition program director, she realized she was utilizing anthropological thinking to build and manage nutrition programs in the community. This experience led to her return to graduate school to study nutritional anthropology. She has conducted fieldwork among Native Canadians in both the sub-arctic and arctic, working primarily on North Baffin Island with Inuit seal hunters. She also has post-doctoral experience working in applied anthropology and public health both as a researcher and director of applied public health programs.
Honors Faculty Fellow (2023-2024)
As an Honors Faculty Fellow, Professor Borre will teach a seminar on You are What you Eat; You Eat What you Are: Migration and American Food in spring 2024 in the University Honors Program. The Honors Faculty Fellowship program identifies faculty eager to teach innovative, exciting seminars of interest to highly-motivated students from across the university.
Research
Most recently she conducted fieldwork and research among rural southern communities studying diet, physical activity and obesity among school children. She developed an obesity intervention program with community partners called “Growing Up Fit: Building Healthy Lifestyles for School Aged-Children” that became self-sufficiently managed by two local school systems and has been effective in reducing childhood obesity. She has conducted fieldwork among migrant farm workers and growers in Eastern North Carolina looking at occupational health risks. She enjoys mentoring student research and working collaboratively with community partners. Her current interests are in food security and health outcomes, local food systems, child growth and health and health disparities. Professor Borre studies the interrelationship between cultural models, environmental constraints and health outcomes of vulnerable populations.
Courses Taught
She currently teaches courses in general, cultural, medical and nutritional anthropology. She has taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dickinson College and East Carolina University.
Publications
Her recent research publication is Borre, Kristen, Ertle, Luke and Graff, Mariaelisa. 2010. “Working to Eat: Vulnerability, Food Insecurity and Obesity Among Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Families.” American Journal of Industrial Medicine 53: 443-462. She also has published bio-culturally competent manuals and instructional materials for the prevention of childhood obesity including Active Recess for All: Program to increase physical activity among elementary school children to meet NC Healthy Active Children Policy. (2004) Growing Up FIT! Greenville, NC: East Carolina University; Go FIT! After School. Growing Up FIT! A manual for after school program enrichment to improve physical activity and dietary behaviors in elementary school children.(2005)NC Agromedicine Institute. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University; and Growing Up FIT! Eat Smart Cafeteria Games. A collection of portable food and nutrition games designed to be played with children during and after the lunch period. (2005) NC Agromedicine Institute. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University.
