Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences

Obesity, Nutrition, and Physical Activity

Breadcrumb

Obesity, Nutrition, and Physical Activity

Studying behaviors that guide our eating habits and physical activity.

Areas of Focus

Multilevel community-based interventions
Identification of social, cognitive, and affective mediators and moderators of intervention effects
Sophisticated statistical modeling of behavior change
Issues related to dissemination of efficacious interventions

Our faculty research obesity, nutrition (including breastfeeding) and physical activity. Faculty research in this area involves multilevel community-based interventions, with a particular focus on enhancing health equity and reducing racial and ethnic disparities for underserved populations.

Faculty

Jasjit Ahluwalia

Professor

Jasjit_Ahluwalia@brown.edu
Tayla von Ash

Assistant Professor

Tayla_Ash@brown.edu
Tanya Benitez

Assistant Professor (Research)

Tanya_Benitez@brown.edu
Beth Bock

Professor of Psychiatry & Human Behavior

Beth_Bock@Brown.edu
Lauren Bohlen

Assistant Professor

Lauren_Bohlen@brown.edu
Judson Brewer

Professor

Judson_Brewer@brown.edu
Shira Dunsiger

Associate Professor (Research)

Shira_Dunsiger@brown.edu
Kate Guthrie

Professor of Psychiatry & Human Behavior

Kate_Guthrie@brown.edu
Bess Marcus

Professor

bess_marcus@brown.edu
Cara Murphy

Assistant Professor

Cara_Murphy@brown.edu
Amy Nunn

Professor, Executive Director, RI Public Health Institute

Amy_Nunn@brown.edu
Patricia Risica

Associate Professor, Director of the Undergraduate Public Health Concentration

Patricia_Risica@Brown.edu
Jennifer Sacheck

Professor, Chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences

jennifer_sacheck@brown.edu
Laura Stroud

Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Laura_stroud@brown.edu
Shufang Sun

Associate Professor, Associate Director of the Mindfulness Center

Shufang_Sun@brown.edu
Alison Tovar

Associate Professor, Interim Director of CHPHE

Alison_Tovar@brown.edu
David Williams

Professor, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs

David_M_Williams@brown.edu

Affiliated Research Centers and Labs

Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine

Works to discover new and improved health promotion and disease management approaches, focusing on the role of human behavior in health and disease.

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Recent News

October 2, 2025 News from Brown

Kids are not getting as much sleep as their parents think, study finds

Researchers at Brown University found that many Rhode Island kids sleep less than their parents realize, with Latino children logging the least amount of rest.

August 14, 2025 News from SPH

Farm-to-table for the youngest Rhode Islanders

The Little Harvest Produce Box program is delivering fresh, locally grown produce to Rhode Island child-care centers to increase access to nutritious food and encourage healthy eating habits in young children, one box at a time.

May 5, 2025 News from CHPHE

Doctoral Student Publishes Innovative Research on Online Recruitment and Data Integrity in Public Health Nutrition Study

Doctoral student Emily Elenio is tackling one of the biggest challenges in digital public health research today: securing the integrity of online survey data. In her innovative work on the "What’s On Your Plate" study, she sets new standards for recruiting under-resourced populations while defending against bots and fraudulent responses.