Laila Meija

Laila Meija is an Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation at Riga Stradins University. Her expertise focuses on nutrition science, maternal health, and obesity-related research. She has held consecutive roles as an Expert in Health Sciences with the Latvian Council of Science since 2017.

Her research spans dietary habits, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid status in populations, and the metabolic impacts of obesity. Notable projects include: the Excess Weight, Dietary Habits and Vitamin D and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Status in Pregnancy study (2020-2023), and SYSTEMIC: Sustainable Food Systems (2020-2023). She currently co-leads the Dynamics of dietary habits in Latvia project (2025-2029).

• Education: Multiple Expert qualifications in Health Sciences from the Latvian Council of Science

Her research interests include:

• Maternal and child nutrition
• Obesity immunology
• Bariatric surgery outcomes
• Nutrition literacy and sustainability

Recent studies highlight correlations between dietary patterns and health outcomes in perimenopausal women, omega-3 indices in pregnancy, and B cell profiles in obesity. Her work integrates clinical data with population health perspectives.

Professional activities include thesis reviewing (Daugavpils University, Latvia University of Life Sciences), EU-funded research coordination, and media contributions addressing public health topics like sugar consumption and bariatric surgery.

Laila leads a research team focused on sustainable food systems and has supervised multiple PhD candidates. Key datasets include maternal nutrition studies archived at Riga Stradins University (2023).