Research

Leaders at the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center Boston Children’s Hospital are dedicated to addressing obesity through innovative, evidence-based research.

Over the years, our landmark research on low-glycemic diets has challenged conventional wisdom and proven the important impact that blood sugar levels have on hunger and body weight, specifically for adolescents and young adults.

Our research is aimed at understanding the science of how fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages affect children’s health. This research covers why fast food causes weight gain in adolescents, how reducing sugary beverages causes weight loss in adolescents, and how reducing sugary beverages at home can help teens avoid weight gain.

Selected Publications

A Randomized Trial of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Adolescent Body Weight. (New England Journal of Medicine 2012 Sept 21)

Surgical versus lifestyle treatment for type 2 diabetes. JAMA 2012 Sep 12;308(10):981-2

Effects of dietary composition on energy expenditure during weight-loss maintenance. JAMA 2012, 207:2627-2634
The supplemental nutrition assistance program, soda, and USDA policy: who benefits? JAMA 2011, 306:1370-1
Technology, diet, and the burden of chronic disease. JAMA 2011, 305:1352-1353
Weight-loss maintenance: mind over matter? NEJM 2010, 363:2159-2161

Effects of a low-glycemic load diet in overweight and obese pregnant women: a pilot randomized controlled trial (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 2010 Dec)
The Association Between Pregnancy Weight Gain and Birthweight: a Within-family Comparison (Lancet; 2010 Sept 18)
Effects of Glycemic Index on Oxidative Stress (Obesity; 2009 Sept)
Effects of Insulin Secretion on Response to Glycemic Load (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 2008 Feb)
Effects of Glycemic Index on Fatty Liver in Rodents (Obesity; 2007 Sept)
An 18-month Study of a Low Glycemic Load Diet in Young Adults (JAMA; 2007 May 16)
Funding Source Influences the Outcomes of Nutrition-Related Scientific Articles (PLoS Medicine; 2007 Jan)
How TV Viewing Affects Children’s Diets (Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine; 2006 Apr)
Reducing Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Causes Weight Loss in Adolescents (Pediatrics; 2006 Mar)
Beneficial Effects of Low Glycemic Load Diet on Heart Disease Risk Factors (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 2005 May)
Effects of Fast Food on Weight Gain and Insulin Resistance in Young Adults (Lancet; 2005 Jan 1)
Beneficial Effects of a Low Glycemic Load Diet on “Body Weight Set Point” (JAMA; 2004 Nov 24)
A High Glycemic Index Diet Causes Obesity in Rodents (Lancet; 2004 Aug 28)
Why Fast Food Causes Weight Gain in Adolescents (JAMA; 2004 June 16)
Effects of Fast Food on Calorie Consumption and Diet Quality in Children (Pediatrics; 2004 Jan)
Weight Loss in Obese Adolescents on a Low Glycemic Load Diet (Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine; 2003 Aug)
Effects of Dairy Consumption on the Metabolic Syndrome (JAMA; 2002 Apr 24)
Effects of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage on Body Weight in Children (Lancet; 2001 Feb 17)
A Low Glycemic Load Diet Promotes Weight Loss in the OWL Clinic (Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine; 2000 Sept)
Fiber But Not Fat Consumption Affects Body Weight (JAMA; 1999 Oct 27)
How Glycemic Index Affects Hunger and Food Consumption (Pediatrics; 1999 Mar)

Review Articles and Commentary

Extra calories cause weight gain--but how much? (JAMA; 2010 Jan 6)
Artificially Sweetened Beverages: Cause for Concern (JAMA; 2009 Dec 9)
The Public Health and Economic Benefits of Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (NEJM; 2009 Oct 15)
Public Health Action Amid Scientific Uncertainty: The Case of Restaurant Calorie Labeling Regulations (JAMA; 2009 Jul 22)
Obesity and the Economy: From Crisis to Opportunity (JAMA; 2009 Feb 4)
Can the Food Industry Play a Constructive Role in the Obesity Epidemic? (JAMA; 2008 Oct 15)
Storm Over Statins – The Controversy Surrounding Pharmacologic Treatment of Children (NEJM; 2008 Sept 25)
Mindfulness in Medicine (JAMA; 2008 Sept 17)
Effects of Glycemic Index on Gene Function (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 2007 May)
Clinical Update: The Glycemic Index (Lancet; 2007 Mar 17)
Effects of Glycemic Index on Cancer Risk (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 2005 Aug)
Effects of Childhood Obesity on Life Expectancy (NEJM; 2005 Mar 17)
Effects of Glycemic Index on Blood Lipids (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 2004 Oct)
Television Viewing and Childhood Obesity (Lancet; 2004 Jul 17)
The Glycemic Load (Journal of Nutrition; 2003 Sept)
Effects of Glycemic Index on Body Weight (Obesity Reviews; 2002 Nov)
Childhood Obesity (Lancet; 2002 Aug 10)
Effects of Glycemic Index on Obesity, Diabetes & Heart Disease (JAMA; 2002 May 8)
Type 2 Diabetes in Children (JAMA; 2001 Sept 26)
Childhood Obesity - The Shape of Things to Come (Pediatric Clinics of North America; 2001 Aug)
How Fiber Affects Body Weight (Pediatric Clinics of North America; 2001 Aug)
Effects of Glycemic Index on Hunger (Journal of Nutrition; 2000 Feb)