Dr. Amy Nunn - 21 Who Made a Difference in 2021

Dr. Amy Nunn is trying to take on the biggest issues relating to hunger and nutrition — and working to improve what people eat and minimize foods that adversely impact their health.

In 2021, Nunn, who heads Rhode Island Public Health Institute, helped to put together a comprehensive strategy and a significant coalition in support of a tax on sugary beverages. With the revenue, she and her peers propose offering more healthy foods to those who have less spending power and less access.

“Now, more than ever, many Rhode Islanders are hungry and have limited access to healthy foods. This important legislation will help alleviate hunger and promote healthy eating across Rhode Island,”  Nunn, said on GoLocal in February of 2021.

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Her strategy focuses on decreasing the demand for the food that makes people obese and causes other related health issues — and then provide healthier food at little or no cost.

But, she ran into the buzzsaw of the American Beverage Association — a powerful national lobbying group that wants the soda to flow freely and has never met a tax it likes. That lobbying was effective in the Speaker's office and the Senate President's office.

Rhode Island has serious health issues tied to its eating.

The State of Childhood Obesity reports that in Rhode Island, obesity rates nearly tripled from 11.1 percent in 1990 to 30.0 percent in 2019.

Rhode Island obesity rates are similar to those in the American South. Low-income populations and communities of color in Rhode Island also experience higher rates of obesity than non-Hispanic White communities. In Rhode Island, 17.5% of youth ages 10 to 17 have obesity, giving Rhode Island a ranking of 11 among the 50 states and D.C.

Nunn made waves in 2021 and expect to hear more from her in 2022.

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