David Ludwig

David Ludwig
For the composer, see David Ludwig (Composer).

David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D. is an American physician in Boston, Massachusetts. He an associate professor of Pediatrics and is the Director of the Obesity Program at the Children's Hospital Boston.[1] He has published several widely-publicized studies about the causes of obesity in children and adults, and has attracted attention for his recommendation that severely obese children be removed from the custody of their parents.[2]

In a study of the effect of diet on obesity, he found that people who ate at least two or more fast food meals a week, were 10 pounds heavier than those who consumed fast food less than once a week.[3]

In 2000 he studied the effects of consuming soft drinks (sweetened beverages including sodas, sugared fruit drinks and sweetened iced tea) on childhood obesity. He found the chances of becoming obese increased by approximately 60% for each daily soft drink the child consumed.[4] He also showed that school children who consume at least 8 ounces of soft drinks daily consume about 835 calories more than children who avoid soft drinks. Ludwig published his findings in The Lancet.

In 2010 he co-authored a study showing a link between maternal weight gain and the child's later risk of obesity.[5]

He has warned that the high levels in obesity in the very young could lead to a decrease in overall life expectancy.[6]

Ludwig received a PhD and an MD from Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pedriatric endocrinology at Children's Hospital Boston.

See also

  • Hereditary factors in childhood obesity

References

  1. ^ Childrens Hospital Boston
  2. ^ "Childhood Obesity: A Call for Parents to Lose Custody". ABC News. July 14, 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/childhood-obesity-call-parents-lose-custody/story?id=14068280. 
  3. ^ Halifax Live News, December 31 2004
  4. ^ The New York Times, February 16, 2001
  5. ^ Harmon, Kathleen, Mother's Pregnancy Weight Linked to Childhood Obesity, in Scientific American, August 5, 2010
  6. ^ USA Today, March 17, 2005

External links


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