Dr. Katie Isselmann DiSantis, Assistant Professor of Community and Global Public Health, co-authored a paper published in Obesity Reviews titled “Family-focused obesity interventions in African-American girls: a systematic review.”

This was a systematic review to assess the nature and effectiveness of family involvement in obesity interventions among African-American girls, a population group with high rates of obesity. Twenty-six databases were searched between January 2011 and March 2012, yielding 27 obesity prevention or treatment studies which had some family involvement were identified. Across all studies, effects on weight-related behaviors were generally promising but often non-significant. The review encourages more methodologically rigorous inquiry into the effect of family involvement on obesity interventions for African-American girls.