Johanna Sandborg

Johanna Sandborg

Assistant Professor
Telephone: +46852485317
Visiting address: Blickagången 16, 14152 Flemingsberg
Postal address: H7 Medicin, Huddinge, H7 GUT Löf, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • I am a nutritionist and postdoctoral researcher in the IMPACT research group led by Professor Marie Löf (https://ki.se/en/bionut/the-impact-research-group-marie-lof), and has recently returned to the group after a one year postdoc fellowship at Deakin University, Australia.

    My PhD was within the HealthyMoms randomized controlled trial (2017-2022, Karolinska Institutet, PI: Professor Marie Löf) in which I worked with recruitment and data collection in maternity healthcare, and used comprehensive measurements and analytic approaches to assess weight, body composition (air-displacement plethysmography: BodPod [women]; PeaPod [infants]), diet (web-based 24-hour recall), movement behaviors (accelerometry, ActiGraph), and cardiometabolic health (blood pressure, blood glucose, insulin, and lipids) in pregnancy.

    Following my dissertation, I received funding to work as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, in the Let's Grow randomized controlled trial (https://letsgrowprogram.org/, PI: Professor Kylie Hesketh) . The aim of Let's Grow is to help parents of toddlers learn skills and strategies to support healthy movement behaviors. My work at IPAN has mainly included investigation into the reporting of and assessment of engagement in digital interventions by applying new analytic models, as well as investigation into novel approaches to assess movement behaviors.

    Currently, I am working as Assistant Professor and I am the principal investigator of the NavScreen co‑design study and randomized controlled trial, in which I am leading all phases including pilot-work, intervention development, qualitative data collection, recruitment, evaluation, and analysis. I am also lead researcher within the SPARK project (Smart Phone App for gestational diabetes patients suppoRting Key lifestyle behaviors and glucose control) which evaluates an mHealth intervention intended to provide support for healthy eating and physical activity as well as daily monitoring of blood glucose (an app) to patients with gestational diabetes (https://ki.se/en/bionut/mobile-based-interventions-to-promote-a-healthy-lifestyle-in-preschool-aged-children-and). 

Research

  • The overall goal of my research is to provide support and evidence-based tools for families and healthcare for a healthy start in life with hopefully long-lasting effects across the lifespan. More specifically, my research focuses on obesity prevention in pregnancy and early childhood by promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors (diet and physical activity) using digital technologies (apps). Within this context, my research also focuses on the development of methods to improve the assessment of movement behaviors (physical activity of different intensities, sedentary behavior, and sleep), and in particular screen time, as well as assessment of user engagement in digital interventions to inform the evaluation of intervention outcomes and development of more impactful and highly used interventions.

Teaching

  • Since 2017, I have been involved in a broad range of teaching activities in nutrition, including roles as lecturer, supervisor, examiner, and laboratory assistant, teaching students at different stages of their education (nutrition and medical students). I have lectured at both bachelor’s and master’s programmes in nutrition at Stockholm University/Karolinska Institutet, as well as at the Medical Programme at Linköping University, and have supervised bachelor’s and master’s theses. I am currently co‑supervising a PhD student and serve as course director for Diet, Physical Activity and Fitness: Assessment and Evaluation (10 ECTS, Master’s Programme in Nutrition) and Nutritional Epidemiology (7.5 ECTS, Bachelor’s Programme in Nutrition) at Karolinska Institutet.

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • NavScreen – a co-designed and scalable intervention to help parents navigate and promote healthier screen time habits from early childhood: a randomized controlled trial
    Swedish Research Council for Health Working Life and Welfare
    1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028
    Research problem: Early childhood is a critical window for obesity prevention with physical activity and sedentary behavior, including screen time, being key targets. The importance of minimizing screen time in the early years was highlighted for the first time in the recommendations from the Swedish Public Health Agency in September 2024
    however, most children exceed these recommendations and parents have expressed difficulties navigating screen time. Clearly, evidence-based parental support programs are needed. Thus, the aims of this project are to co-design and investigate the efficacy of a highly scalable intervention to support parents in promoting healthier screen time in young children. Data and method: Study 1 will be guided by key findings from our own pilot data from 2024 to co-design an intervention with the target group (parents of different sociodemographic backgrounds, n=20) and supported by a reference group of relevant stakeholders (n=10). The intervention will be delivered via digital learning modules (information, videos) with parenting strategies. Study 2 (full-scale randomized controlled trial, n=450 parents) will evaluate the efficacy of the intervention on parental self-efficacy for managing screen time, and children’s screen time (duration, content, context, type), 24-hour movement behaviors, and dietary habits. A process evaluation will be conducted to investigate acceptability, satisfaction and the role of engagement for intervention efficacy. Societal relevance and utilization: This study addresses an urgent need from parents as well as from child healthcare for implementation of the 2024 guidelines from the Swedish Public Health Agency, and it is the first known study to evaluate the efficacy of a co-designed and scalable intervention intended to promote healthier screen time habits in early childhood, also assessing multiple aspects of screen time (duration, type, contextual factors). If successful, the intervention has great potential to constitute a valuable support to help parents navigate screen time, thereby promoting a healthier start in life for children. Plan for project realization: I am applying for funding for salaries (applicant, 50% and a PhD student, 100%), and project costs (e.g., recruitment, intervention development, statistician consultation, travel costs). The project is based on my previous international post doc at Deakin University, Australia, and pilot study in Sweden. No other funding is required.
  • Navigating screen time in early childhood: parents’ perceptions and attitudes to screen time and feasibility of a co-designed digital intervention
    Henning and Johan Throne Holst foundation
    1 September 2024
  • Erik and Edith Fernström Foundation for Medical Research
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2023
  • The Let’s Grow randomized controlled trial: intervention engagement and effectiveness as well as development of novel technology to assess sedentary behavior in preschoolers
    Henning and Johan Throne-Holst Foundation for Medical Research
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2023

Employments

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, 2026-2029

Degrees and Education

  • Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 2022

Visiting research fellowships

  • Postdoctoral fellowship, Deakin University, 2023-2023

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