Dr Sheila Skeaff, Our people, Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, New Zealand

MSc(Guelph) PhD (Otago)

Sheila Skeaff Thumb 2016 Email sheila.skeaff@otago.ac.nz

Professor Skeaff conducts research on the trace element status of the population, with a particular focus on iodine and fluoride in vulnerable groups of the population, such as children and pregnant women. Professor Skeaff is also interested in elucidating the consequences of mild iodine deficiency on normal growth and development, including cognition. She was a member of a multi-disciplinary group that measured the environmental literacy of students at the University of Otago. More recently, Professor Skeaff has led a team that developed and validated an online questionnaire to measure food literacy in children, which is currently being used to evaluate the impact of school gardens on food literacy in New Zealand children. Her Inaugural Professorial Lecture can be viewed here.

Professor Skeaff leads the Metrics and Management theme of Food Waste Innovation Otago, which measures food waste, develops reduction strategies, applies innovative technology, and works to modify producer and consumer behaviour. She has been involved in measuring food waste in primary production, retail, and food service (eg, universities halls of residence and aged care). Research in Food Waste Innovation builds on Professor Skeaff’s interest in sustainable nutrition.

Professor Skeaff has an MSc in Nutritional Biochemistry from the University of Guelph (Canada) and a PhD in Human Nutrition from the University of Otago. In addition to being a long-standing academic at the University of Otago, Professor Skeaff has held or been appointed to a number of national and international expert groups. Professor Skeaff served as the President of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand for six years and is the vice-chair of the trans-Tasman Expert Working Group for Iodine that is reviewing the Australian/New Zealand Nutrient Reference Values for Iodine. She is a member of a World Health Organisation external expert group working to revise guidance on Iodine indicators. Professor Skeaff plays a key role in the governance of the Oceania Nutrition Leadership Platform (https://www.onlp.org/), serving as the Chair. She is on the Editorial Board of the journals Maternal and Child Nutrition and Frontiers of Nutrition. In 2018 she gained national recognition with an Ako Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award and in 2022 was the OUSA best postgraduate supervisor of the year.

Teaching

Professor Skeaff coordinates and teaches:

HUNT 141 Understanding Human Nutrition

She is also the Human Nutrition Postgraduate Coordinator and oversees the department's MSc and PhD programmes. As part of this role, she coordinates and teaches:

HUNT 455 Advanced Topics in Human Nutrition
HUNT 490 Dissertation
HUNT 495 Master's Thesis Preparation

Current postgraduate students

PhD

Jessica O'Connor (with M Mirosa and P Bremer). Towards a circular bioeconomy: food loss, waste and opportunities in New Zealand beef and dairy production.
Grace Clare (with M Mirosa and P Bremer). The social return on investment of food rescue organisations in New Zealand.

Master of Science

Briar Mills (with M Mirosa and R O’Brien) Food waste in tertiary institutions
Zahrah Hatraby (with M Mirosa) Food waste associated with school food lunches
Taingarue Mataira (with P Wilcox) Breeding characteristics of Manuka honey
Stephanie Dike (with L Moata'ane). Fluoride in Vanuatu: too much or too little?

Recent Graduates

PhD

Nan Xin Wang (with R McLean). Quantifying sodium intake from discretionary salt in the New Zealand diet. (2023)
Pouya Saeedi (with P Skidmore and K Black). The Physical activity, Energy, Diet And Lifestyle (PEDALS) study. (2017)
Zheng Feei Ma (with B Venn). Thyroglobulin as an index of mild iodine deficiency in adults. (2016)

Honours

Jie Yu Ng. An evaluation of food literacy in children before and after the Garden-to-Table programme. (2022)

Master of Health Science

Carolyn Hamer (with M Skeaff). Food Literacy in Year 12 and 13 High School students. (2019)

Master of Science

Madeleine Rowan (with A-L Heath and M Mirosa). The impact of environmental attitudes of parents on food choices and behaviours during complementary feeding. (2022)
Emad Alsayed (with B Venn). The proportion of energy derived from plant-foods in the diets of adolescent girls who identify as omnivores or vegetarians. (2021)
Margaret Thorsen (with M Mirosa). Food waste for New Zealand fruit and vegetable growers. (2021)
Francesca Goodman-Smith (with M Mirosa). Food waste and nutritional loss at the supermarket. (2018)
Lara Ware (with MSkeaff). Food Literacy in New Zealand children. (2018)
Harriet Harrex and Brittany Davison (with P Skidmore and K Black). The Physical activity, Energy, Diet And Lifestyle (PEDALS) study. (2016)
Celine Evans. Iodine status of pregnant NZ women post-fortification. (2015)

Master of Dietetics

Kendall Airey and Abigail McPhail. Attitudes and willingness of university students to reduce meat and replace with plant-based proteins. (2022)
Yue Shin Ong (with M Peddie and J Haszard). Iodine intakes in adolescent girls and boys enrolled in SuNDiAL. (2022)
Kathy Xu, Mickey Yuan, Molly Peters, Aysu Shahin (with M Peddie and J Haszard). Iodine and fluoride intakes in adolescent boys enrolled in SuNDiAL. (2021)

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Publications

Skeaff, S. A. (2023). An adequate intake of iodine in pregnancy: Better safe than sorry. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.05.013

O'Connor, J., Skeaff, S., Bremer, P., Lucci, G., & Mirosa, M. (2023). A critical review of on-farm food loss and waste: Future research and policy recommendations. Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems, 38, e24. doi: 10.1017/S1742170523000169

O'Hearn, M., Lara-Castor, L., Cudhea, F., Miller, V., Reedy, J., Shi, P., … Global Dietary Database, including Skeaff, S. (2023). Incident type 2 diabetes attributable to suboptimal diet in 184 countries. Nature Medicine, 29, 982-995. doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02278-8

Miller, V., Webb, P., Cudhea, F., Zhang, J., Reedy, J., Shi, P., … Global Dietary Database, including Skeaff, S. (2023). Children’s and adolescents’ rising animal-source food intakes in 1990–2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity. Nature Food, 4, 305-319. doi: 10.1038/s43016-023-00731-y

Clare, G., Diprose, G., Lee, L., Bremer, P., Skeaff, S., & Mirosa, M. (2023). Measuring the impact of food rescue: A social return on investment analysis. Food Policy, 117, 102454. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1071829

Ma, Z. F., & Skeaff, S. A. (2017). Assessment of population iodine status. In E. N. Pearce (Ed.), Iodine deficiency disorders and their elimination. (pp. 15-28). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-49505-7_2

Chapter in Book - Research

Skeaff, S., & Thomson, C. D. (2017). Trace elements 10.3: Iodine. In J. Mann & A. S. Truswell (Eds.), Essentials of human nutrition. (5th ed.) (pp. 172-178). Oxford University Press. [Contribution].

Chapter in Book - Research

Menon, K., & Skeaff, S. (2016). Iodine: Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). In B. Caballero, P. M. Finglas & F. Toldrá (Eds.), Encyclopedia of food and health. (pp. 437-443). Oxford: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-384947-2.00399-8

Chapter in Book - Research

Skeaff, S. A., & Zhou, S. J. (2016). Iodine and brain development. In V. H. Moran & N. M. Lowe (Eds.), Nutrition and the developing brain. (pp. 169-188). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Shephard, K., Harraway, J., Lovelock, B., Skeaff, S., Slooten, L., Strack, M., & Jowett, T. (2012). Monitoring changes in the sustainability attributes of higher education students in a New Zealand university. In W. L. Filho (Ed.), Sustainable development at universities: New horizons. (pp. 117-126). Frankfurt, Germany: Peter Lang.

Chapter in Book - Research

Skeaff, S., & Thomson, C. D. (2012). Trace elements 11.3: Iodine. In J. Mann & A. S. Truswell (Eds.), Essentials of human nutrition. (4th ed.) (pp. 177-184). Oxford University Press. [Contribution].

Chapter in Book - Research

Skeaff, S. A. (2011). Iodine and cognitive development. In D. Benton (Ed.), Lifetime nutritional influences on cognition, behaviour and psychiatric illness. (pp. 109-128). Cambridge, UK: Woodhead.

Chapter in Book - Research

Skeaff, S. A. (2009). Iodine nutrition in pregnancy: Meeting iodine requirements in the diets of pregnant women. In V. R. Preedy, G. N. Burrow & R. Watson (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of iodine: Nutritional, biochemical, pathological and therapeutic aspects. (pp. 1259-1264). Amsterdam: Academic Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Thomson, C. D., & Skeaff, S. A. (2009). Iodine status and deficiency disorders in New Zealand. In V. R. Preedy, G. N. Burrow & R. Watson (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of iodine: Nutritional, biochemical, pathological and therapeutic aspects. (pp. 1251-1258). Amsterdam: Academic Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Brough, L., & Skeaff, S. (2020). Iodine status in New Zealand. In P. A. C. Richards (Ed.), Iodophor: Tamed iodine: The status of iodine in Tasmania. Gatekeeper Press.

Chapter in Book - Other

Journal - Research Article

Wang, N. X., McLean, R. M., Cameron, C., & Skeaff, S. A. (2023). The quantification of sodium intake from discretionary salt intake in New Zealand using the lithium-tagged salt method. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9, 1065710. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1065710

Journal - Research Article

Miller, V., Reedy, J., Cudhea, F., Zhang, J., Shi, P., Erndt-Marino, J., … on behalf of the Global Dietary Database, including Skeaff, S. (2022). Global, regional, and national consumption of animal-source foods between 1990 and 2018: Findings from the Global Dietary Database. Lancet Planetary Health, 6, e243-e256. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00352-1

Journal - Research Article

Miller, V., Webb, P., Cudhea, F., Shi, P., Zhang, J., Reedy, J., … Global Dietary Database, including Skeaff, S. (2022). Global dietary quality in 185 countries from 1990 to 2018 show wide differences by nation, age, education, and urbanicity. Nature Food, 3, 694-702. doi: 10.1038/s43016-022-00594-9

Journal - Research Article

Rowan, M., Mirosa, M., Heath, A.-L. M., Katiforis, I., Taylor, R. W., & Skeaff, S. A. (2022). A qualitative study of parental perceptions of baby food pouches: A netnographic analysis. Nutrients, 14, 3248. doi: 10.3390/nu14153248

Journal - Research Article

Thorsen, M., Mirosa, M., & Skeaff, S. (2022). A quantitative and qualitative study of food loss in glasshouse-grown tomatoes. Horticulturae, 8(1), 39. doi: 10.3390/horticulturae8010039

Journal - Research Article

Wang, N. X., Skeaff, S., Cameron, C., Fleming, E., & McLean, R. M. (2022). Sodium in the New Zealand diet: Proposed voluntary food reformulation targets will not meet the WHO goal of a 30% reduction in total sodium intake. European Journal of Nutrition. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s00394-022-02864-5

Journal - Research Article

Beckford, K., Grimes, C. A., Riddell, L. J., Margerison, C., Skeaff, S. A., & Nowson, C. A. (2021). Food sources of iodine in schoolchildren and relationship with 24-hour urinary iodine excretion in Victoria, Australia. British Journal of Nutrition, 127, 791-799. doi: 10.1017/s0007114521001410

Journal - Research Article

Jin, Y., Coad, J., Skeaff, S. A., Zhou, S. J., & Brough, L. (2021). Iodine status of postpartum women and their infants aged 3, 6 and 12 months: Mother and Infant Nutrition Investigation (MINI). British Journal of Nutrition, 127, 570-579. doi: 10.1017/s000711452100129x

Journal - Research Article

Jin, Y., Coad, J., Zhou, S. J., Skeaff, S., Benn, C., & Brough, L. (2021). Use of iodine supplements by breastfeeding mothers Is associated with better maternal and infant iodine status. Biological Trace Element Research, 199, 2893-2903. doi: 10.1007/s12011-020-02438-8

Journal - Research Article

Jin, Y., Coad, J., Zhou, S. J., Skeaff, S., Ramilan, T., & Brough, L. (2021). Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in postpartum women with suboptimal iodine and selenium and adequate iron status. Clinical Endocrinology, 95, 873-881. doi: 10.1111/cen.14502

Journal - Research Article

Beckford, K., Grimes, C. A., Margerison, C., Riddell, L. J., Skeaff, S. A., West, M. L., & Nowson, C. A. (2020). A systematic review and meta-analysis of 24-h urinary output of children and adolescents: Impact on the assessment of iodine status using urinary biomarkers. European Journal of Nutrition, 59, 3113-3131. doi: 10.1007/s00394-019-02151-w

Journal - Research Article

Goodman-Smith, F., Mirosa, M., & Skeaff, S. (2020). A mixed-methods study of retail food waste in New Zealand. Food Policy, 92, 101845. doi: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101845

Journal - Research Article

Jin, Y., Luo, X., Ma, Z. F., Dong, Z., Carciofo, R., Li, X., & Skeaff, S. (2020). Adequate iodine intake among young adults in Jiangsu Province, China despite a medium iodine knowledge score. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology & Education, 10(1), 554-563. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe10010040

Journal - Research Article

Saeedi, P., Haszard, J., Stoner, L., Skeaff, S., Black, K. E., Davison, B., … Meredith-Jones, K., Quigg, R., … Skidmore, P. M. L. (2020). Relationships between dietary patterns and indices of arterial stiffness and central arterial wave reflection in 9–11-year-old children. Children, 7(6), 66. doi: 10.3390/children7060066

Journal - Research Article

Sam, C. H. Y., Skidmore, P., Skeaff, S., Parackal, S., Wall, C., & Bradbury, K. E. (2020). Relative validity and reproductivity of a short food frequency questionnaire to assess nutrient intakes of New Zealand adults. Nutrients, 12(3), 619. doi: 10.3390/nu12030619

Journal - Research Article

Sherriff, J., Hine, T., Begley, A., Zhao, Y., Black, L., Dunlop, E., & Skeaff, S. (2020). Iodine-containing food practices of Western Australian pregnant women and ethnicity: An observational study. Nutrition & Dietetics, 77, 344-350. doi: 10.1111/1747-0080.12585

Journal - Research Article

Stoner, L., Higgins, S., Black, K., Boggess, K., Meyer, M. L., Chou, A., Galland, B., Haszard, J. J., Meredith-Jones, K., … Skeaff, S., & Skidmore, P. M. L. (2020). Short sleep duration is associated with central arterial stiffness in children independent of other lifestyle behaviors. Journal of Science in Sport & Exercise, 2, 236-245. doi: 10.1007/s42978-020-00062-5

Journal - Research Article

Szymlek-Gay, E. A., Gray, A. R., Heath, A.-L. M., Ferguson, E. L., Edwards, T., & Skeaff, S. A. (2020). Iodine-fortified toddler milk improves dietary iodine intakes and iodine status in toddlers: A randomised controlled trial. European Journal of Nutrition, 59, 909-919. doi: 10.1007/s00394-019-01950-5

Journal - Research Article

Brown, K., Connelly, S., Lovelock, B., Mainvil, L., Mather, D., Roberts, H., Skeaff, S., & Shephard, K. (2019). Do we teach our students to share and to care? Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 24(4), 462-481. doi: 10.1080/13596748.2019.1654693

Journal - Research Article

Peniamina, R., Skeaff, S., Haszard, J. J., & McLean, R. (2019). Comparison of 24-h diet records, 24-h urine, and duplicate diets for estimating dietary intakes of potassium, sodium, and iodine in children. Nutrients, 11(12), 2927. doi: 10.3390/nu11122927

Journal - Research Article

Strack, M., Shephard, K., Jowett, T., Mogford, S., Skeaff, S., & Mirosa, M. (2019). Monitoring surveying students' environmental attitudes as they experience higher education in New Zealand. Survey Review, 51(366), 257-264. doi: 10.1080/00396265.2017.1399526

Journal - Research Article

Zhou, S. J., Condo, D., Ryan, P., Skeaff, S. A., Howell, S., Anderson, P. J., … Makrides, M. (2019). Association between maternal iodine intake in pregnancy and childhood neurodevelopment at age 18 months. American Journal of Epidemiology, 188(2), 332-338. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwy225

Journal - Research Article

Harrex, H. A. L., Skeaff, S. A., Black, K. E., Davison, B. K., Haszard, J. J., Meredith-Jones, K., Quigg, R., Saeedi, P., … Skidmore, P. M. L. (2018). Sleep timing is associated with diet and physical activity levels in 9-11-year-old children from Dunedin, New Zealand: The PEDALS study. Journal of Sleep Research, 27(4), e12634. doi: 10.1111/jsr.12634

Journal - Research Article

Hine, T., Zhao, Y., Begley, A., Skeaff, S., & Sherriff, J. (2018). Iodine-containing supplement use by pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Western Australia. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 58(6), 636-642. doi: 10.1111/ajo.12785

Journal - Research Article

Innes, S., Shephard, K., Furnari, M., Harraway, J., Jowett, T., Lovelock, B., Strack, M., & Skeaff, S. (2018). Greening the curriculum to foster environmental literacy in tertiary students studying human nutrition. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 13(2), 192-204. doi: 10.1080/19320248.2016.1255693

Journal - Research Article

Ma, Z. F., Venn, B. J., Manning, P. J., Cameron, C. M., & Skeaff, S. A. (2018). The sensitivity and specificity of thyroglobulin concentration using repeated measures of urinary iodine excretion. European Journal of Nutrition, 57(4), 1313-1320. doi: 10.1007/s00394-017-1410-6

Journal - Research Article

Reynolds, A. N., & Skeaff, S. A. (2018). Maternal adherence with recommendations for folic acid and iodine supplements: A cross-sectional survey. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 58(1), 125-127. doi: 10.1111/ajo.12719

Journal - Research Article

Saeedi, P., Black, K. E., Haszard, J. J., Skeaff, S., Stoner, L., Davidson, B., Harrex, H. A. L., Meredith-Jones, K., Quigg, R., … Skidmore, P. M. L. (2018). Dietary patterns, cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness in 9-11-year-old children from Dunedin, New Zealand. Nutrients, 10, 887. doi: 10.3390/nu10070887

Journal - Research Article

Beckford, K., Grimes, C. A., Margerison, C., Riddell, L. J., Skeaff, S. A., & Nowson, C. A. (2017). Iodine intakes of Victorian schoolchildren measured using 24-h urinary iodine excretion. Nutrients, 9(9), 961. doi: 10.3390/nu9090961

Journal - Research Article

Condo, D., Huyhn, D., Anderson, A. J., Skeaff, S., Ryan, P., Makrides, M., … Zhou, S. J. (2017). Iodine status of pregnant women in South Australia after mandatory iodine fortification of bread and the recommendation for iodine supplementation. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 13(4), e12410. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12410

Journal - Research Article

Davison, B., Saeedi, P., Black, K., Harrex, H., Haszard, J., Meredith-Jones, K., Quigg, R., Skeaff, S., … Skidmore, P. (2017). The association between parent diet quality and child dietary patterns in nine- to eleven-year-old children from Dunedin, New Zealand. Nutrients, 9(5), 483. doi: 10.3390/nu9050483

Journal - Research Article

Huynh, D., Condo, D., Gibson, R., Muhlhausler, B., Ryan, P., Skeaff, S., … Zhou, S. J. (2017). Iodine status of postpartum women and their infants in Australia after the introduction of mandatory iodine fortification. British Journal of Nutrition, 117(12), 1656-1662. doi: 10.1017/S0007114517001775

Journal - Research Article

Edmonds, J. C., McLean, R. M., Williams, S. M., & Skeaff, S. A. (2016). Urinary iodine concentration of New Zealand adults improves with mandatory fortification of bread with iodised salt but not to predicted levels. European Journal of Nutrition, 55(3), 1201-1212. doi: 10.1007/s00394-015-0933-y

Journal - Research Article

Jones, E., McLean, R., Davies, B., Hawkins, R., Meiklejohn, E., Ma, Z. F., & Skeaff, S. (2016). Adequate iodine status in New Zealand school children post-fortification of bread with iodised salt. Nutrients, 8(5), 298. doi: 10.3390/nu8050298

Journal - Research Article

Jorgensen, A., O'Leary, P., James, I., Skeaff, S., & Sherriff, J. (2016). Assessment of breast milk iodine concentrations in lactating women in Western Australia. Nutrients, 8(11), 699. doi: 10.3390/nu8110699

Journal - Research Article

Ma, Z. F., Venn, B. J., Manning, P. J., Cameron, C. M., & Skeaff, S. A. (2016). Iodine supplementation of mildly iodine-deficient adults lowers thyroglobulin: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 101(4), 1737-1744. doi: 10.1210/jc.2015-3591

Journal - Research Article

Menon, K. C., Ferguson, E. L., Thomson, C. D., Gray, A. R., Zodpey, S., Saraf, A., … Skeaff, S. A. (2016). Effects of anemia at different stages of gestation on infant outcomes. Nutrition, 32(1), 61-65. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2015.07.009

Journal - Research Article

More publications...

Professor Sheila Skeaff

Teaching

Current postgraduate students

PhD

Master of Science

Recent Graduates

PhD

Honours

Master of Health Science

Master of Science

Master of Dietetics

Publications