Rate My Professor Rina Swart

Professor Rina Swart is a professor and Head of the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of the Western Cape, where she has served for over 35 years. She holds a BSc and BSc Hons from Stellenbosch University, a Diploma in Hospital Dietetics from Stellenbosch University, an MPhil in Public Health, and a PhD from the University of the Western Cape. A registered dietitian and nutritionist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, her work centers on public health nutrition.

Professor Swart serves as Nutrition Programme Leader within the DSI/NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security since 2014 and as Co-Principal Investigator for Nutrition, Health and Safety. Her research focuses on the prevention of all forms of malnutrition through nutrition policies and programmes, including evaluations of the Health Promotion Levy, development of front-of-pack labelling for packaged foods, and the National Dietary Intake Survey. She is a member of the Association for Dietetics in South Africa and the Nutrition Society of South Africa, having served as NSSA Council chairperson from 2010 to 2012 and president from 2006 to 2010. She has been active in the World Public Health Nutrition Association, including arranging its 2016 congress in Cape Town, and delivered her inaugural lecture in 2025 titled “Enabling Food Environments to Address the Triple Burden of Malnutrition.”