Preventing Childhood Obesity
Addressing childhood obesity is a key focus and priority of many faculty of UofSC.
One particular group, The Arnold Childhood Obesity Initiative, focuses on increasing
physical activity and healthy eating among school-aged children. The emphasis of this
work is on instilling healthy habits in children to promotes healthy aging throughout
the lifespan.
Current Novel Research Efforts
Helping children consume healthful foods and beverages to meet the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans.
Scale down to promote the South Carolina Obesity Action Plan, a tactical plan that aims to build
on the success of previous efforts and offers new strategies to reduce obesity rates
in the Palmetto State.
Local policies for improving the school food environment in South Carolina.
Associated Affiliate Scholars
Beets, Michael, Ph.D. Bell, Bethany, Ph.D. Blake, Christine, Ph.D., RD Davis, Rachel, Ph.D. Draper, Carrie, MSW
Fram, Maryah, Ph.D.
Frongillo, Edward, Ph.D. Jones, Sonya, Ph.D.
Lane-Cordova, Abbi, Ph.D.
Liese, Angela, Ph.D. Liu, Jihong, Sc.D.
Merchant, Anwar, Sc.D.
Moran, Robert, Ph.D. O’Neill, Jennifer, Ph.D. Ozturk, Orgul, Ph.D.
Pate, Russell, Ph.D. Probst, Jan, Ph.D.
Rosemond, Tiara, Ph.D., MPH, CHES
Saunders, Ruth, Ph.D.
Shapiro, Cheri, Ph.D. Torres, Myriam Elsa, Ph.D.
Walsemann, Katrina, Ph.D.
Weaver, Glenn, Ph.D.
Wilson-King, Dawn, Ph.D.
Younginer, Nicholas, Ph.D. Zarrett, Nicole, Ph.D.
Expand all Affiliate Publications
Brazendale K, Brazendale AB, Garcia JM, Monroe CM, Weaver RG, Beets MW . Brief Report: Obesogenic Behaviors of Children with Developmental Disabilities During
Summer. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. December 2020. doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04566-5.Burke MP, Jones SJ , Frongillo EA , Blake CE , Fram MS . Parenting styles are associated with overall child dietary quality within low-income
and food-insecure households. Public Health Nutrition. doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019001332, 2019.
Butler LM, Bhandari S , Otieno P, Weiser SD, Cohen CR, Frongillo EA . Agricultural and Finance Intervention Increased Dietary Intake and Weight of Children
Living in HIV-Affected Households in Western Kenya . Current Developments in Nutrition. 2020;4(2). doi:10.1093/cdn/nzaa003.
Chen L-W, Aubert A, Bernard JY, Cooper C, Duijts L, Geraghty AA, Harvey NC, Hebert JR , et al. Maternal dietary quality, inflammatory potential and offspring adiposity throughout
childhood: a pooled analysis of 7 European cohorts (ALPHABET consortium). Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2020;79(OCE2). doi:10.1017/s0029665120001032.
Collie-Akers VL, Fawcett SB, Schultz JA, Fleming KK, Swinburne Romine RE, Ritchie
LD, Frongillo E , Arteaga SS. Association of Multisetting Community Programs and Policies With Child Body Mass Index:
The Healthy Communities Study. Preventing Chronic Disease. 2020;17. doi:10.5888/pcd17.190196.
Contreras-Manzano A, Jáuregui A, Nieto C, Hall MG, Vargas-Meza J, Thrasher JF , Illescas-Zarate D, Baequera S, Hammond D. The impact of a cartoon character on adults perceptions of Children’s breakfast cereals:
a randomized experiment. Nutrition Journal . 2020;19(1). doi:10.1186/s12937-020-00565-5.
Dowda M, Saunders RP , Colabianchi N, Dishman RK, Mciver KL, Pate RR . Longitudinal Associations Between Psychosocial, Home, and Neighborhood Factors and
Children’s Physical Activity. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2020:1-7. doi:10.1123/jpah.2019-0137.
Dugger R, Brazendale K, Hunt ET, Moore JB, Turner-McGrievy G , Vogler K, Beets MW , Armstrong B, Weaver RG . The impact of summer programming on the obesogenic behaviors of children: behavioral
outcomes from a quasi-experimental pilot trial. Pilot and Feasibility Studies. 2020;6(1). doi:10.1186/s40814-020-00617-x.
Dunn CG, Wilcox S , Bernhart JA, Blake CE , Kaczynski AT , Turner-Mcgrievy GM . Church Leaders’ Views of Obesity Prevention Efforts for Children and Youth. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior . 2019. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2019.09.019.
Murillo-Castillo KD, Frongillo EA , Corella-Madueño MA, Quizán-Plata T. Food Insecurity Was Associated with Lower Fruits and Vegetables Consumption but Not
with Overweight and Obesity in Children from Mexican Fishing Communities. Ecology of Food and Nutrition. November 2020:1-16. doi:10.1080/03670244.2020.1737042.
Nguyen PH, Frongillo EA , Kim SS, Zongrone AA, Jilani A, Tran LM, Sanghvi T, Menon P. Information diffusion and social norms are associated with infant and young child
feeding practices in Bangladesh. Journal of Nutrition doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz167, 2019.
Ozturk OD, Frongillo E, Blake C, Turner-McGrievy G , Mcinnes MM. Before the Lunch Line: Behavioral Economic Interventions for Pre-Commitment. SSRN Electronic Journal. 2018. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3320549.
Pope HC, Draper C , Younginer N , Whitt O, Paget C. Use of Decision Cases for Building SNAP-Ed Implementers’ Capacities to Realize Policy,
Systems, and Environmental Strategies. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2019. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2019.09.020.
Rosemond TN , Blake CE , Shapiro CJ , Burke MP, Bernal J, Adams EJ, Frongillo EA . Disrupted relationships, chaos, and altered family meals in food-insecure households:
Experiences of caregivers and children. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2019.05.005, 2019.
Ross SET, Militello G, Dowda M, Pate RR . Changes in Diet Quality in Youth Living in South Carolina From Fifth to 11th Grade. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2020. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2020.03.001.
Srivastav, A, Spencer, M , Thrasher, JF, Strompolis, M, Crouch, E, & Davis, RE. (2019). Addressing Health and Well-Being Through State Policy: Understanding Barriers and
Opportunities for Policy-Making to Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in
South Carolina. American Journal of Health Promotion, 0890117119878068.
Tooze JA, The NS, Crandell JL, Couch SC, Mayer-Davis EJ, Koebnick C, Liese AD . An Approach for Examining the Impact of Food Group-Based Sources of Nutrients on Outcomes
with Application to PUFAs and LDL in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes. Nutrients . 2020;12(4):941. doi:10.3390/nu12040941.
Vahid F, Bourbour F, Gholamalizadeh M, Shivappa N, Hebert JR , Babakhani K, Jarrahi AM, Dahka SM, Doaei S. A pro-inflammatory diet increases the likelihood of obesity and overweight in adolescent
boys: a case–control study. Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome. 2020;12(1). doi:10.1186/s13098-020-00536-0.
Weaver RG , Armstrong B, Hunt E, Beets M, Brazendale K, Dugger R, Turner-McGrievy G, Pate R, Maydeu-Olivares A, Saelens B, Youngstedt S. The Impact of Summer Vacation on Children’s Obesogenic Behaviors and Body Mass Index:
A natural experiment. Europe PMC. 2020. doi:10.21203/rs.2.24115/v1.
Weaver RG , Hunt E, Rafferty A, Beets MW , Brazendale K, Turner-McGrievy G , Pate RR , Maydeu-Olivares A, Saelens B, Youngstedt S. The potential of a year-round school calendar for maintaining children's weight status
and fitness: Preliminary outcomes from a natural experiment. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2020;9(1):18-27. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2019.05.006.
Zaltz DA, Hecht AA, Pate RR , Neelon B, O’Neill JR, Benjamin-Neelon SE. Participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program is associated with fewer barriers
to serving healthier foods in early care and education. BMC Public Health . 2020;20(1). doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08712-7.
Research Labs & Centers
Community Related Organizations