Nicole Toussaint

Nicole Toussaint is an Urban Vitality Lecturer/researcher at the Department of Nutrition and Exercise at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Her work focuses on promoting healthy behaviors in early childhood through structured interventions targeting childcare professionals, parents, and toddlers. Key research areas include physical activity promotion, nutritional policies in childcare facilities, and collaborative teacher-parent partnerships.

Her research employs mixed-methods approaches including observational studies, cluster randomized trials, and program evaluations. Notable projects include the CO-HEALTHY trial evaluating teacher-parent collaboration, the Gezonde Kinderopvang program assessing childcare practices, and the Simpel Fit! intervention targeting preschool obesity prevention.

Toussaint has supervised multiple student theses related to childcare policies, professional training, and dietary practices. She collaborates extensively with institutions like Hogeschool van Amsterdam and contributes to public health media discussions on childhood obesity and healthy lifestyles.

Her datasets and publications emphasize practical implementation strategies, with a focus on low-threshold interventions and scalable solutions for Dutch early childhood education systems.