Kelly D. Brownell, PhD
Dr. Kelly Brownell is the Former Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University. He is the James Rowland Angell Professor of Psychology at Yale University, where he also serves as Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health. In 2006 Time magazine listed Kelly Brownell among “The World’s 100 Most Influential People” in its special Time 100 issue featuring those “.. whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world.”
Dr. Brownell was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine in 2006 and has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, Graduate Mentoring Award from Yale, the James McKeen Cattell Award from the New York Academy of Sciences, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Purdue University, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Rutgers University, and the Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology from the American Psychological Association. He has served in a number of leadership roles at Yale including Master of Silliman College and Chair of the Department of Psychology.
He has published 15 books and more than 350 scientific articles and chapters. One book received the Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Book from the American Library Association, and his paper on "Understanding and Preventing Relapse" published in the American Psychologist was listed as one of the most frequently cited papers in psychology.
Dr. Brownell served as President of several national organizations, including the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, and the Division of Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association.
Dr. Brownell has advised the White House, members of congress, governors, world health and nutrition organizations, and media leaders on issues of nutrition, obesity, and public policy. He was cited as a “moral entrepreneur” with special influence on public discourse in a history of the obesity field and was cited by Time magazine as a leading “warrior” in the area of nutrition and public policy.
Contact: (203) 432-7790; kelly.brownell@yale.edu
In the News
Food and Beverage Companies Ranked by Nutrition
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, a non-profit organization with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has created the Access to Nutrition Index, a new global initiative that evaluates food and beverage manufacturers on their policies, practices, and performance related to obesity and under-nutrition.
USA Today, March 2013
Pop Science: The Case for and Against the Soda Ban
Mayor Bloomberg's office released data showing nine of the top 10 neighborhoods with the highest obesity rates city-wide were also the highest in sugary drink consumption. At the other end, the three least obese neighborhoods were also the lowest in sugary drink consumption.
ABC News, March 2013
Nutrition Experts: Despite Ruling, Soda Ban is Still a Great Idea
A court may have ruled against New York’s supersized soda ban, but many prominent nutrition experts applaud any effort to limit how many sugary drinks Americans gulp down.
NBC News, March 2013
Birds Eye Vegetable Sales Mark Progress in Obesity Fight
Anti-obesity efforts by large companies, including Wal-Mart and Walgreens, have led to more fresh foods in poor neighborhoods, reduced soda consumption, and a jump in vegetable sales, according to a report by Partnership for a Healthier America.
Bloomberg Businessweek, March 2013
Selling Kids On Veggies When Rules Like 'Clean Your Plate' Fail
Experts believe that positive encouragement works better to get children to eat healthier than rules like demanding they eat things like vegetables before they can have a dessert.
NPR, March 2013
Publications
Roberto CA, Haynos AF, Schwartz MB, Brownell KD, White MA. Calorie estimation accuracy and menu labeling perceptions among individuals with and without binge eating and/or purging disorders. Eating and Weight Disorders. 2013 May:1-7.
Gearhardt AN, Yokum S, Stice E, Harris JL, Brownell KB. Relation of obesity to neural activation in response to food commercials. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 2013 Apr.
Martinez OD, Roberto CA, Kim JH, Schwartz MB, Brownell KD. A Survey of undergraduate student perceptions and use of nutrition information labels in a university dining hall. Health Education Journal. 2013 May;72(3):319-325.
Harris JL, Sarda V, Schwartz MB, Brownell KD. Redefining “child-directed advertising” to reduce unhealthy television food advertising. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2013 Mar;44(4):358-364.
Roberto CA, Shivaram M, Martinez O, Boles C, Harris JL, Brownell KD. The Smart Choices front-of-package nutrition label. Influence on perceptions and intake of cereal. Appetite. 2012 Apr;58(2):651-657.
Schvey NA, Puhl RM, Levandoski KA, Brownell KD. The influence of a defendant’s body weight on perceptions of guilt. International Journal of Obesity. 2013 Jan;1:1-7.
Pomeranz JL, Brownell KD. Portion sizes and beyond — Government’s legal authority to regulate food-industry practices. New England Journal of Medicine. 2012 Sep:1-3.
Bragg MA, Liu PJ, Roberto CA, Sarda V, Harris JL, Brownell KD. The use of sports references in marketing of food and beverage products in supermarkets. Public Health Nutrition. 2012 Aug:1-5.
Yanamadala S, Bragg MA, Roberto CA, Brownell KD. Food industry front groups and conflicts of interest: the case of Americans Against Food Taxes. Public Health Nutrition. 2012 Aug;15(8):1331–1332.
Roberto CA, Bragg CA, Schwartz MB, Seamans MJ, Musicus A, Novak N, Brownell KD. Facts Up Front versus Traffic Light food labels. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2012 Aug;43(2):134-141.
Podcasts
The Law, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention
Host: Kelly Brownell, Guest(s): Jennifer L. Pomeranz, JD, MPH
Director, Legal Initiatives, Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity
5/3/13
Mindfulness, Happiness, and Eating
Host: Kelly Brownell, Guest(s): Dan Harris
Anchor and Correspondent, ABC News
4/9/13
Lessons Learned From Tobacco Control
Host: Kelly Brownell, Guest(s): Mike Daube
Professor of Health Policy and Director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia; President, Australian Council on Smoking and Health
3/5/13
Tobacco Plain Packaging
Host: Kelly Brownell, Guest(s): Mike Daube
Professor of Health Policy and Director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia; President, Australian Council on Smoking and Health
3/5/13
Positive Approaches to Body Image
Host: Kelly Brownell, Guest(s): Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH, RD
Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota
2/26/13
Press Releases
3/12/13: Industry self-regulation permits junk food ads in programming popular with children
Loopholes in industry self-regulation allow food companies to continue to reach large numbers of children with advertising for unhealthy products — such as fast food, candy, and cookies — during “tween” programs and popular children’s holiday specials. The study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
1/8/13: Body weight and gender influence judgment in the courtroom
In a study that offers insight into the depth of stigmatization of overweight and obese people, researchers at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity found that weight stigma extends to the courtroom. Published online in the International Journal of Obesity, the study shows that a defendant’s body weight and gender impact jurors’ perceptions of guilt and responsibility.
6/22/12: Cereal FACTS 2012: A spoonful of progress in a bowl full of unhealthy marketing to kids
Cereal companies have improved the nutritional quality of most cereals marketed directly to children, but they also have increased advertising to children for many of their least nutritious products, according to a report by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.
4/24/12: Yale Rudd Center Featured in HBO Series on Obesity Crisis
Researchers from the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity will be featured in a multi-part series on HBO that addresses the national obesity epidemic. Rudd Center director Kelly Brownell, deputy director Marlene Schwartz, director of research Rebecca Puhl, and director of marketing initiatives Jennifer Harris will join other notable names in obesity research and prevention to discuss one of the nation’s most pressing health issues and offer practical but far-reaching solutions.
10/31/11: Despite Industry promises, Yale Study Finds Unprecedented Marketing of Sugary Drinks to Youth
Young people are being exposed to a massive amount of marketing for sugary drinks, such as full-calorie soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, and fruit drinks, according to a new study from the Rudd Center. The study is the most comprehensive and science-based assessment of sugary drink nutrition and marketing ever conducted.
