Deborah Lown Assistant Professor 220 Padnos Hall Department of Biomedical Sciences Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI 49401 phone: 331-8919 email: lownde@gvsu.edu OFFICE HOURS: See available times here, or by appointment

EDUCATION/TRAINING:
Post-Doctoral Fellowship, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2006-2008
Ph.D., Epidemiology, University of Michigan, 2005
M.S., Clinical Nutrition, University of Michigan, 1990
B.S., Nutrition, University of Michigan, 1984

RESEARCH INTERESTS
The associations between maternal child-feeding practices and childhood obesity.  The role of behaviors on physical activity in adolescent girls and serving size on daily calorie intake of 3-5 year old children.

The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing which is a significant public health issue, as overweight children tend to become overweight adults, and adult obesity increases morbidity and mortality. There is evidence, primarily in young Caucasian girls, that family environment such as maternal feeding practices influence child eating behaviors and through this pathway on child’s overweight status. I am currently exploring the association of maternal restrictive feeding practices on the restrictive feeding practices of boys and girls and if this is modified by ethnic identity. Future research goals in this area are to conduct a pilot test to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a feeding and physical activity intervention in mothers and their 8-12-year old daughters.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Braunschweig CL, Lown DA. Evidence-based medicine for nutrition support: An overview of the process. Nutr Clin Pract. 22(6):599-601, 2008.

Lown DA, Braunschweig CL. Determinants of physical activity in low-income, overweight African American Girls. Am J Health Behav. 32(3):253-259,2008.