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Dr Kanita Kunaratnam

Lecturer

Staff Member Details
Email: k.kunaratnam@ecu.edu.au
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3149-0706

Dr Kunaratnam is the Unit Co-ordinator and Lecturer for both Joondalup and Bunbury students for the subjects Human Nutrition (NUT1121), Nutrition in the Life Cycle (NUT2210) and Nutritional Assessment (NUT2220).

Current Teaching

  • NUT1121 Human Nutrition
  • NUT2210 Nutrition in the Life Cycle
  • NUT2220 Nutritional Assessment

Background

Dr Kanita Kunaratnam has been employed as a Lecturer in the School of Medical and Health Sciences for the last year. She  currently coordinates and teaches a range of Public Health Nutrition units in the undergraduate K97, M89 and Y68  programs.  Kanita is a significant member of the teaching staff and is an early career researcher with a promising research track record  and completed her Doctor of Philosophy in 2020.  She brings to the school a wealth of practitioner experience in Public Health, Clinical and Community Dietetics, Health Promotion and Research experience.

Kanita is an accredited practicing dietitian (APD) with Dietitians Australia and has been employed by the School of Medical and Health Science since 2020. Kanita has over 15 years of experience working as a dietitian in many different sectors including hospitals, in-patient and out-patient clinics,  public health and community health settings, private practice and research. Her PhD at the University of Sydney looked into maternal and child factors that are associated with diet and weight status among preschool children.

Professional Associations

  • Member - Dietitians Australia (DA)
  • Accorded Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD) status with DA
  • Member of Paediatric peer-reviewer Committee (for advanced APDs or APDs who have had extensive experience in Paediatrics)
  • DA mentor to provisional dietitans
  • Member of the Australian New Zealand Academy of Eating Disorders (ANZAED)

Awards and Recognition

  • Athena Swan 2021 - STEM Award Nominee

Research Areas and Interests

Kanita's research interests are predominantly in child and maternal health and nutrition, Nutrition policy, Eating disorders, Weight Stigma, Body Dissatisfaction and Childhood Obesity. She also has an interest in nutrition and research in marginalized communities framed within a social justice lens e.g. Aboriginal Health Research; Culturally and Liguistically Diverse Groups; Migrants etc.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Sydney, 2020.
  • Master of Nutrition and Dietetics, The Flinders University of South Australia, 2005.
  • Bachelor of Science, Singapore, 1998.

Research Outputs

2023

Conference Publications

  • De Paolis, M., Culverhouse, S., Kunaratnam, K. (2023). Reducing weight bias and stigma in health and fitness professionals: a scoping review of intervention studies. Reducing weight bias and stigma in health and fitness professionals: a scoping review of intervention studies (Article number E140). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665123001490.
  • Culverhouse, S., De Paolis, M., Kunaratnam, K. (2023). Exploring anti-thin bias in fitness and health professionals: a scoping review. Exploring anti-thin bias in fitness and health professionals: a scoping review (Article number E172). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665123001817.

2022

Journal Articles

  • Yan, T., Devine, A., Marlow, E., Lo, J., Dunican, I., Kunaratnam, K., Andrew, L., Christophersen, C. (2022). Resistant Starch Intake Is Low in Australian Adults With Irritable Bowel Syndrome Who Follow a Low FODMAP Diet. Current Developments in Nutrition, 6(Supplement_1), 757-757. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzac062.026.

2021

Journal Articles

  • Yan, T., Andrew, L., Marlow, E., Kunaratnam, K., Devine, A., Dunican, I., Christophersen, C. (2021). Dietary Fibre Intervention for Gut Microbiota, Sleep, and Mental Health in Adults with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Scoping Review. Nutrients, 13(7), Article number 2159. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13072159.

2020

Journal Articles

  • Kunaratnam, K., Halaki, M., Wen, L., Baur, L., Flood, V. (2020). Tracking Preschoolers' Lifestyle Behaviors and Testing Maternal Sociodemographics and BMI in Predicting Child Obesity Risk. The Journal of Nutrition, 150(12), 3068-3074. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxaa292.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

Completed Supervisions

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Does Fibre-fix provided to people with irritable bowel syndrome who are consuming a low FODMAP diet improve their gut health, gut microbiome, sleep and mental health?
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