Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Schools of Public Health & Medicine
Nutrition
Nutrition Epidemiology
Associate ProfessorAppointed: 2008
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Gillings School of Global Public Health
Nutrition
Nutritional Epidemiology
Assistant ProfessorAppointed: 2002
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carolina Population Center
Carolina Population Center
FellowAppointed: 2001
Professional Headshot of Penny Gordon-Larsen

Mailing Address

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carolina Population Center
123 West Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
United States

Contact Information

Phone: (919) 843-9966
Fax: (919) 966-9159
pglarsen@email.unc.edu

Qualifications

Dannon Institute Postdoctoral, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nutrition Epidemiology, 1998.
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Anthropology, 1997.
M.S., University of Pennsylvania, Anthropology, 1993.
B.A., Tulane University, Anthropology and Psychology, 1989.

Expertise and Research Interests

Dr. Gordon-Larsen is an obesity epidemiologist interested in patterns and determinants of obesity, specifically diet, physical activity, and inactivity. She is a human biologist by training and her work integrates biological, behavioral, and environmental factors. Her National Institutes of Health-funded research focuses on individual susceptibility to environmental factors, with a focus on gene by environment interactions. She is also conducting research investigating the relationships between environmental factors (such as GIS-defined access to physical activity and diet facilities) and physical activity, diet, obesity, and cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. She works with data on US adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a longitudinal study of over 20,000 US adolescents and with the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study, a 20-year study that follows 5,115 respondents over time. She is particularly interested in understanding factors underlying health disparities, with an emphasis on factors amenable to policies to improve health outcomes. Dr. Gordon-Larsen is a member of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences, The Obesity Society, and the Population Association of America. She is currently a Council Member of The Obesity Society and Chair of the Pediatric Obesity section of The Obesity Society. She is on the Editorial Boards of the journals Obesity, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, and Annals of Human Biology.

Keywords

COS Keywords:

Adolescent Health, Anthropology, Epidemiology, Ethnic Studies, Exercise, Medical Anthropology, Minority Health, Nutrition or Dietetics, Obesity, Physical Fitness.

Additional Terms:

Diet, Ethnicity, Lifecycle Appraoches, Metabolic Risk Factors, Nutrition, Obesity, Pediatric Obesity, Physical Activity.

Languages

(Reading, Writing, Speaking)

French: (Basic, Basic, Basic)

Memberships

American Society for Nutritional Sciences
North American Association for the Study of Obesity
Population Association of America

Honors and Awards

2006, Who's Who in America, Marquis Who's Who Publications
2005, Editor's Choice Reviewer Award, The Journal: Obesity Research, Obesity Society
2005, Featured Expert in Obesity, News Services, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2005, Delta Omega Society, (Honorary Public Health Society).
2003, William T. Grant Scholars Award Finalist Understanding the Influence of the Environment on Physical Activity and Obesity: Improving Overall Health and Well-Being of U.S. Adolescents
2003, Who’s Who in Medical Sciences Education, Marquis Who's Who Publications
2000, Finalist, North American Association for the Study of Obesity Pilot Study Grant Mechanism, North American Association for the Study of Obesity, Obesity and physical activity
1999, Finalist, North American Association for the Study of Obesity Young Investigator, North American Association for the Study of Obesity, Determinants of physical activity
1998, Dannon Institute Nutrition Leadership Institute, Dannon Institute
1998-2000, Dannon Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Nutrition Science, Dannon Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Obesity
1995-1996, Dissertation and Applied Research Fellowship, Ford Foundation, University of Pennsylvania
1995, Dissertation Enhancement Grant, Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania
1993-1995, Dissertation and Applied Research Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania
1991, University Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania
1989, Arden R. King Prize for Excellence in Anthropology, Tulane University

Previous Positions

1996-1998, Academic Coordinator, University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts and Sciences, W.K. Kellogg Program to Link Intellectual Resources and Comm., Nutrition Intervention
1996-1998, Administrative Coordinator, University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts and Sciences, W.K. Kellogg Program to Link Intellectual Resources and Comm., Nutrition Intervention
1995-1998, Instructor, University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts and Sciences, Anthropology, Human Biology
1992-1998, Associate Director, University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts and Sciences, Anthropology, Human Biology, Turner Nutrition Awareness Project

Funding Received

  • UNC Clinical Nutrition Research Center Pilot and Feasibility Grant (NIH #DK56350), National Institutes of Health (NIH): The influence of diet- and activity-related environmental factors on obesity, Sep 30, 2002 to Sep 30, 2004.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Obesity Prevention Intervention for African-American Girls, Co-Investigator, Sep 30, 1999 to Sep 30, 2002.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Obesity and the Environment: The Transition to Adulthood (K01 HD044263-01)., May 1, 2003 to Apr 30, 2008.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Beyond Race: Explaining inequality manifested as obesity R01 HD39183-01, Co-investigator, Jun 1, 2000 to Jun 1, 2004.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Environmental impact on obesity/activity. SIP 5-00 Project Title: Environmental Determinants of Obesity, Physical Activity and Nutrition, Co-Investigator, Jun 1, 2000 to Jun 1, 2002.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Gene-Environment Interactions and Weight Gain, 2008 to 2012.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Diet, Activity, Obesity & the Built Environment, 2005 to 2010.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Young Adult Environmental and Physical Activity Dynamics, 2004 to 2009.

Publications

  • The NS, Gordon-Larsen P (Jul 2009) Entry into romantic partnership is associated with obesity., Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 17 (7), 1441-7 Abstract
  • Perrin EM, Boone-Heinonen J, Field AE, Coyne-Beasley T, Gordon-Larsen P (Jun 2009) Perception of overweight and self-esteem during adolescence., The International journal of eating disorders Abstract
  • Robinson WR, Gordon-Larsen P, Kaufman JS, Suchindran CM, Stevens J (Apr 2009) The female-male disparity in obesity prevalence among black American young adults: contributions of sociodemographic characteristics of the childhood family., The American journal of clinical nutrition, 89 (4), 1204-12 Abstract
  • Boone-Heinonen J, Evenson KR, Taber DR, Gordon-Larsen P (Mar 2009) Walking for prevention of cardiovascular disease in men and women: a systematic review of observational studies., Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 10 (2), 204-17 Abstract
  • Scharoun-Lee M, Kaufman JS, Popkin BM, Gordon-Larsen P (Feb 2009) Obesity, race/ethnicity and life course socioeconomic status across the transition from adolescence to adulthood., Journal of epidemiology and community health, 63 (2), 133-9 Abstract
  • Scharoun-Lee M, Adair LS, Kaufman JS, Gordon-Larsen P (Feb 2009) Obesity, race/ethnicity and the multiple dimensions of socioeconomic status during the transition to adulthood: a factor analysis approach., Social science & medicine (1982), 68 (4), 708-16 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Hou N, Sidney S, Sternfeld B, Lewis CE, Jacobs DR, Popkin BM (Jan 2009) Fifteen-year longitudinal trends in walking patterns and their impact on weight change., The American journal of clinical nutrition, 89 (1), 19-26 Abstract
  • Duffey KJ, Gordon-Larsen P, Ayala GX, Popkin BM (Dec 2008) Birthplace is associated with more adverse dietary profiles for US-born than for foreign-born Latino adults., The Journal of nutrition, 138 (12), 2428-35 Abstract
  • Boone-Heinonen J, Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS (Dec 2008) Obesogenic clusters: multidimensional adolescent obesity-related behaviors in the U.S., Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 36 (3), 217-30 Abstract
  • Boone JE, Gordon-Larsen P, Stewart JD, Popkin BM (May 2008) Validation of a GIS facilities database: quantification and implications of error., Annals of epidemiology, 18 (5), 371-7 Abstract
  • Shishehbor MH, Gordon-Larsen P, Kiefe CI, Litaker D (Apr 2008) Association of neighborhood socioeconomic status with physical fitness in healthy young adults: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study., American heart journal, 155 (4), 699-705 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Suchindran CM (Nov 2007) Maternal obesity is associated with younger age at obesity onset in U.S. adolescent offspring followed into adulthood., Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 15 (11), 2790-6 Abstract
  • Monda KL, Gordon-Larsen P, Stevens J, Popkin BM (Feb 2007) China's transition: the effect of rapid urbanization on adult occupational physical activity., Social science & medicine (1982), 64 (4), 858-70 Abstract
  • Field AE, Aneja P, Austin SB, Shrier LA, de Moor C, Gordon-Larsen P (Feb 2007) Race and gender differences in the association of dieting and gains in BMI among young adults., Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 15 (2), 456-64 Abstract
  • Duffey KJ, Gordon-Larsen P, Jacobs DR, Williams OD, Popkin BM (Jan 2007) Differential associations of fast food and restaurant food consumption with 3-y change in body mass index: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study., The American journal of clinical nutrition, 85 (1), 201-8 Abstract
  • Boone JE, Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Popkin BM (2007) Screen time and physical activity during adolescence: longitudinal effects on obesity in young adulthood., The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 4, 26 Abstract
  • Borrell LN, Kiefe CI, Williams DR, Diez-Roux AV, Gordon-Larsen P (Sep 2006) Self-reported health, perceived racial discrimination, and skin color in African Americans in the CARDIA study., Social science & medicine (1982), 63 (6), 1415-27 Abstract
  • Nelson MC, Gordon-Larsen P, Song Y, Popkin BM (Aug 2006) Built and social environments associations with adolescent overweight and activity., American journal of preventive medicine, 31 (2), 109-17 Abstract
  • Nelson MC, Gordon-Larsen P (Apr 2006) Physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns are associated with selected adolescent health risk behaviors., Pediatrics, 117 (4), 1281-90 Abstract
  • Nelson MC, Gordon-Larsen P, North KE, Adair LS (Apr 2006) Body mass index gain, fast food, and physical activity: effects of shared environments over time., Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 14 (4), 701-9 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Nelson MC, Page P, Popkin BM (Feb 2006) Inequality in the built environment underlies key health disparities in physical activity and obesity., Pediatrics, 117 (2), 417-24 Abstract
  • Harris, KM, Gordon-Larsen, P, Chantala, K, Udry, JR (2006) Longitudinal Trends in Race and Ethnic Disparities in Leading Health Indicators from Adolescence to Young Adulthood., Archives Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 160, 74-81
  • Eckhardt CL, Suchindran C, Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS (Sep 2005) The association between diet and height in the postinfancy period changes with age and socioeconomic status in Filipino youths., 135 (9), 2192-8 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Nelson MC, Beam K (May 2005) Associations among active transportation, physical activity, and weight status in young adults., 13 (5), 868-75 Abstract
  • Nelson MC, Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Popkin BM, Adolescent Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Patterning And Long-term Maintenance., American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(3), 259-66, Apr 2005 Abstract
  • Nelson MC, Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Are Adolescents Who Were Breast-fed Less Likely to Be Overweight? Analyses of Sibling Pairs to Reduce Confounding., Epidemiology (cambridge, Mass.), 16(2), 247-53, Mar 2005 Abstract
  • Popkin, BM, Duffey, K, Gordon-Larsen, P (2005) Environmental influences on food choice, physical activity and energy balance., Physiol Behav., 86 (5), 603-13
  • Eckhardt CL, Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Growth Patterns of Filipino Children Indicate Potential Compensatory Growth., Annals of Human Biology, 32(1), 3-14, Jan-Feb 2005 Abstract
  • Popkin BM, Gordon-Larsen P, The Nutrition Transition: Worldwide Obesity Dynamics and Their Determinants., International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders : Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity., 28 Suppl 3, S2-9, Nov 2004 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Nelson MC, Popkin BM, Longitudinal Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Trends: Adolescence to Adulthood., American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27(4), 277-83, Nov 2004 Abstract
  • Katz ML, Gordon-Larsen P, Bentley ME, Kelsey K, Shields K, Ammerman A, "Does Skinny Mean Healthy?" Perceived Ideal, Current, and Healthy Body Sizes Among African-American Girls and Their Female Caregivers., Ethnicity & Disease, 14(4), 533-41, Autumn 2004 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Griffiths P, Bentley ME, Ward DS, Kelsey K, Shields K, Ammerman A, Barriers to Physical Activity: Qualitative Data on Caregiver-daughter Perceptions and Practices., American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27(3), 218-23, Oct 2004 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Nelson MC, Popkin BM, Five-year Obesity Incidence in the Transition Period Between Adolescence and Adulthood: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health., The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 80(3), 569-75, Sep 2004 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Harris KM, Ward DS, Popkin BM, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Acculturation and Overweight-related Behaviors Among Hispanic Immigrants to the US: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health., Social Science & Medicine (1982), 57(11), 2023-34, Dec 2003 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Popkin BM, The relationship of ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, and overweight in US adolescents, Obesity Research, 11(1), 121-9, January 2003 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Popkin BM, Ethnic Differences in Physical Activity and Inactivity Patterns And Overweight Status., Obesity Research, 10(3), 141-9, Mar 2002 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Popkin BM, US adolescent physical activity and inactivity patterns are associated with overweight: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Obesity Research, 10, 141-149, 2002
  • Adair LS, Gordon-Larsen P, Maturational timing and overweight prevalence in US adolescent girls, American Journal of Public Health, 91(4), 642-4, April 2001 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Obesity-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in obese and non-obese urban Philadelphia female adolescents, Obesity Research, 9(2), 112-8, February 2001 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, McMurray RG, Popkin BM, Determinants of adolescent physical activity and inactivity patterns, Pediatrics, 105(6), E83, June 2000 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, McMurray RG, Popkin BM, Adolescent physical activity and inactivity vary by ethnicity: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Journal of Pediatrics, 135(3), 301-6, September 1999 Abstract
  • Gordon-Larsen P, Zemel BS, Johnston FE, Secular changes in stature, weight, fatness, overweight and obesity in urban African-American adolescents from the mid-1950's to the mid-1990's, American Journal of Human Biology, 9, 675-88, 1997
  • Cameron N, Gordon-Larsen P, Wrchota EM, Longitudinal analysis of adolescent growth in height, fatness, and fat patterning in rural South African black children, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 93, 307-21, 1994

Profile Details

Last Verified: 7/6/2009

COS Expertise ID #935324
Reference this profile directly: http://myprofile.cos.com/pglarsen