“We’re looking for innovative ways to both treat and prevent obesity—including creating healthier environments and designing programs for whole families.”

David Arterburn, MD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute Senior Investigator
Washington Permanente Medical Group, Internal Medicine

Research overview

“Obesity is the number-one health problem in the United States because it negatively affects our population’s health more than any other condition,” said Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute senior investigator David Arterburn, MD, MPH. Kaiser Permanente Washington researchers are doing practical research to learn how doctors, patients, families, employers, and policymakers can best work together to prevent and treat obesity.

“We’re focusing on three ways to halt the obesity epidemic,” said associate investigator Dori Rosenberg, PhD, MPH. “We’re helping to change obesity-promoting environments, bringing evidence-based prevention and treatment programs into health care systems, and helping people develop lifelong healthy diet and activity habits.”

Kaiser Permanente Washington obesity research areas include:

  • reducing sedentary behavior and promoting physical activity and healthy diet in various age groups, populations with chronic conditions, and families;
  • shared decision making to help patients find the best way to a healthy weight;
  • implementing health coaches in primary care to support behavior changes;
  • social networks that support lifestyle change programs;
  • relationships between medications and genetic factors in developing obesity;
  • health system, community, and national policies that address obesity;
  • relationships between obesity and depression, diabetes, and other conditions; and
  • long-term benefits and risks of bariatric (weight loss) surgery.

“Obesity is caused by many factors, so at Kaiser Permanente Washington, we’re working on many levels,” said Paula Lozano, MD, MPH, a senior investigator and Kaiser Permanente Washington’s assistant medical director for preventive care. “We’re improving health care to help people who are obese now. But since obesity is a societal problem, we’re also studying how to change our homes and workplaces and neighborhoods to create more healthy environments.”

Recent publications on Obesity

Maciejewski ML, Arterburn DE. Cost-effectiveness of bariatric surgery. JAMA. 2013;310(7):742-3. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.276131. PubMed

Arterburn D, Westbrook EO, Terrell A. Weight control practices of severely obese patients who are not seeking bariatric surgery. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Aug;21(8):1509-13. doi: 10.1002/oby.20488. Epub 2013 Jul 5. PubMed

Liu CT, Monda KL, Taylor KC, Lange L, Demerath EW, Palmas W, Wojczynski MK, Ellis JC, Vitolins MZ, Liu S, Papanicolaou GJ, Irvin MR, Xue L, Griffin PJ, Nalls MA, Adeyemo A, Liu J, Li G, Ruiz-Narvaez EA, Chen WM, Chen F, Henderson BE, Millikan RC, Ambrosone CB, Strom SS, Guo X, Andrews JS, Sun YV, Mosley TH, Yanek LR, Shriner D, Haritunians T, Rotter JI, Speliotes EK, Smith M, Rosenberg L, Mychaleckyj J, Nayak U, Spruill I, Garvey WT, Pettaway C, Nyante S, Bandera EV, Britton AF, Zonderman AB, Rasmussen-Torvik LJ, Chen YD, Ding J, Lohman K, Kritchevsky SB, Zhao W, Peyser PA, Kardia SL, Kabagambe E, Broeckel U, Chen G, Zhou J, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Neuhouser ML, Rampersaud E, Psaty B, Kooperberg C, Manson JE, Kuller LH, Ochs-Balcom HM, Johnson KC, Sucheston L, Ordovas JM, Palmer JR, Haiman CA, McKnight B, Howard BV, Becker DM, Bielak LF, Liu Y, Allison MA, Grant SF, Burke GL, Patel SR, Schreiner PJ, Borecki IB, Evans MK, Taylor H, Sale MM, Howard V, Carlson CS, Rotimi CN, Cushman M, Harris TB, Reiner AP, Cupples LA, North KE, Fox CS. Genome-wide association of body fat distribution in African ancestry populations suggests new loci. PLoS Genet. 2013;9(8):e1003681. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003681. Epub 2013 Aug 15. PubMed

Arterburn D, Bogart A, Coleman KJ, Haneuse S, Selby J, Sherwood NE, Sidney S, Theis MK, Campos GM, McCulloch D, O'Connor P. Comparative effectiveness of bariatric surgery vs. nonsurgical treatment of type 2 diabetes among severely obese adults Obes Res Clin Pract. 2013 Jul-Aug;7(4):e235-320. doi: 10.1016/j.orcp.2012.08.196. PubMed

Grow HM, Hsu C, Liu LL, Briner L, Jessen-Fiddick T, Lozano P, Saelens BE. Understanding family motivations and barriers to participation in community-based programs for overweight youth: one program model does not fit all. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2013 Jul-Aug;19(4):E1-E10. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0b013e31825ceaf9. PubMed

Researchers in Obesity

David E. Arterburn, MD, MPH

Senior Investigator
206-287-4610
David.E.Arterburn@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Paula Lozano, MD, MPH

Senior Investigator; Director, ACT Center
206-287-2113
Paula.Lozano@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Allen Cheadle, PhD

Senior Investigator, KPWHRI; Senior Research Associate, CCHE
206-287-4391
Allen.D.Cheadle@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Dori E. Rosenberg, PhD, MPH

Senior Scientific Investigator
206-287-2532
Dori.E.Rosenberg@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Gregory E. Simon, MD, MPH

Senior Investigator
206-287-2979
Gregory.E.Simon@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Andrea J. Cook, PhD

Senior Biostatistics Investigator
206-287-4257
Andrea.J.Cook@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Beverly B. Green, MD, MPH

Senior Investigator
206-287-2997
Bev.B.Green@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Maricela Cruz, PhD

Assistant Biostatistics Investigator
206-287-2878
Maricela.F.Cruz@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Mikael Anne Greenwood-Hickman, MPH

Collaborative Scientist
(206) 287-2908
Mikael.Anne.Greenwood-Hickman@kp.org

Laurel Hansell, MA, MPH

Collaborative Scientist
laurel.d.hansell@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Nicole M. Gatto, PhD, MPH

Principal Collaborative Scientist
Nicole.M.Gatto@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)