Kelly D. Brownell, Yale Psychology Faculty

Professor (Ph.D., 1977, Rutgers University)

Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity
Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders

Research Interests

The work of our group focuses on the etiology, prevention and treatment of obesity and eating disorders. This work integrates information from many disciplines and specialties ranging from the basic physiology of body weight regulation to world politics affecting issues such as agriculture subsidies and international trade policies. The intersection of biology, behavior, environment, and health is the overall emphasis, with much of the work falling into the health psychology arena. One focus is the conflict between individual and collective perceptions that eating and body weight are entirely controllable and the reality that the environment interacts with biology in ways that limit personal control.

We are currently investigating a number of related issues. Projects are underway on environmental factors that contribute to obesity and eating disorders; the specific effects of the “toxic environment” that encourages overeating and physical inactivity; bias, prejudice, discrimination and obesity; cognitive factors that affect body image and associated psychological factors; food prices and food consumption patterns; dietary and exercise interventions in schools; reactions to obesity surgery; and public policy as a means of changing eating and activity in the population.

Two facilities are key resources. The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity is a unique enterprise whose mission is to improve the world’s diet, to prevent obesity, and to reduce weight stigma by combining science with public policy in unique ways. This multidisciplinary center brings together experts from nutrition, psychology, law, economics, political science and more to forge new initiatives that will produce real change.

In the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty take part in both clinical work and research pertaining to bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, obesity, binge eating, and body image issues. The stimulating environment provides multiple opportunities for clinical training and for research on all aspects of eating problems, ranging from etiology through prevention.

Sample Publications

Fairburn, C.G., & Brownell, K.D. (Eds.) (2002). Eating Disorders and Obesity: A Comprehensive Handbook (Second Edition). New York: Guilford Press.

Brownell, K.D., & Horgen, K.B. (2004). Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America’s Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It. New York: McGraw-Hill/ Contemporary Books.

Brownell, K.D., Puhl, R.B., & Schwartz, M.B., & Rudd, L.C. (Eds.). (2005). Weight Bias: Nature, Consequences, and Remedies. New York: Guilford.

Vartanian, L.R., Schwartz, M.B., & Brownell, K.D. (in press). Effects of soft drink consumption on nutrition and health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Public Health.

Yach, D, Stuckler, D., & Brownell, K.D. (2006). Epidemiologic and economic consequences of the global epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Nature Medicine, 12, 62-66.

Horgen, K.B., & Brownell, K.D. (2002). Comparison of price change and health message interventions in promoting healthy food choices. Health Psychology, 21, 505-512.