Westminster PhD student Rusudan Gvamichava creates project to promote healthy eating in Georgia

Rusudan Gvamichava has been researching for her PhD since 2021. She also completed her undergraduate degree in Human Nutrition BSc Honours at Westminster in 2020, in which she obtained a First-Class Honours degree. She is supervised by Dr Ihab Tewfik at Westminster and by Professor Levan Baramidze, Head of the Department of Health Management, Policy and Economics at Tbilisi State Medical University, Georgia.

Georgia faces unique malnutrition challenges tied to socioeconomic factors, cultural practices and regional disparities, hence the need for a groundbreaking study to unleash the power of family-based nutrition intervention to combat childhood malnutrition.  

Rusudan’s project involved employing, for the first time in Tbilisi, a customised ten-week Digital Nutrition Education package to improve children’s dietary behaviour by targeting 328 Georgian families. This resulted in quantifiable changes in their children’s dietary intake. The results of this innovative approach have impressed the public health community, demonstrating the power of parents in the fight against malnutrition. Rusudan and Dr Tewfik reported that the tailored intervention has significantly increased children's vegetable intake by over 150% and improved healthy eating habits, such as daily breakfast consumption, which rose by 8.3%. The intervention had a meaningful impact on parents' knowledge, attitudes and practices, positively affecting children’s physical and cognitive development.

Rusudan is also the Co-founder of the Georgian Society of Nutritionists since 2018, championing initiatives that provide accessible and effective nutritional information to families and communities to circumvent key issues including gaps in nutritional data, a lack of tailored educational materials, limited reliable information and a shortage of qualified professionals. She is also an active member of the Community Health, Resilience and Wellbeing Research Group at the University of Westminster, which Dr Tewfik leads.

Rusudan is connected with a broader audience through her Instagram blog @rgnutritionist, where she shares daily healthy eating tips as the first UK Associate Nutritionist from Georgia. With over 30,000 followers, she engages people with practical nutrition advice, debunks myths and promotes simple, accessible ways to adopt healthier eating habits. Rusudan’s platform allows her to reach individuals and families beyond her community work, spreading her passion for nutrition and helping her make an impact on a wider scale.

She has also been recently recognised by Forbes Georgia as one of this year’s 30 Under 30 in the Education and Science category.

About the Forbes recognition, Rusudan said: “I am grateful for the support and resources provided by the University of Westminster, which have been instrumental in my academic and professional development. This recognition is not only a personal achievement but also a testament to the quality of education and mentorship available at our University. I look forward to continuing my research and contributing to the field of nutrition with the backing of our esteemed institution. Thank you for your continued support and guidance.”

About the success of the project, Dr Ihab Tewfik said: “Rusudan’s PhD project is already making a difference in Georgia and has shattered the notion that child nutrition is solely the domain of schools or healthcare providers. It is clear when families unite for health, children’s nutrition thrives. Our findings convey that the family that learns together gets healthy together.”

The outcome of Rusudan’s project directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, 4: Quality Education and 10: Reduced Inequalities. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.

Learn more about the Nutrition and Public Health courses at the University of Westminster.