Mekdes Gebremariam

Mekdes Gebremariam is a Professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Global Health at the University of Oslo. Her research focuses on public health challenges such as obesity prevention, nutrition, and health disparities across socioeconomic groups. She has conducted extensive studies on child and adolescent health, environmental influences on physical activity, and interventions targeting early life factors influencing weight trajectories.

Research Interests
Her work examines the intersection of socioeconomic factors, built environments, and health outcomes. Key topics include:

• Obesity prevention in children and adolescents
• Mechanisms of health disparities
• Implementation of school-based nutrition interventions
• Global health equity in education systems
• Incarceration health effects

Publications
Her recent work explores neighborhood effects on physical activity, dietary diversity in Ethiopia, and decolonizing global health education. Over 50 publications demonstrate methodological expertise in systematic reviews, longitudinal cohort studies, and mixed-methods analysis.

Labs/Teams
She contributes to the Transdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Health (TRUST) group and the ENABLE Ethiopia project focused on non-communicable disease risk reduction.