Obesity Prevention Program, Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School

The Program's three primary areas of research expertise are:

Epidemiologic studies

of the development of obesity and its sequelae, including metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This area invokes the life course approach to chronic disease, and especially targets etiologic factors working at the earliest stages of human development.

Interventions to prevent childhood obesity and its consequences. This area's focus is on innovative behavior change interventions in primary care settings, with an additional interest in community settings such as child care.

Health services research on the effects on prevalence and consequences of obesity of:

Health plan policies and programs
Clinical therapeutic interventions such as surgery or pharmaceutical agents
Decision support or new technology for clinicians
Cost-effectiveness of clinical and policy interventions

The Obesity Prevention Program is a multidisciplinary program that fosters collaboration among DACP investigators, across the Harvard campus, and both nationally and internationally. It serves as a springboard for training the next generation of researchers in obesity prevention.