Brandyn Churchill, assistant professor at American University’s School of Public Affairs, has received a $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to lead a project studying the effects of federal funding aimed at reducing the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related health conditions, such as diabetes. 

Excess bodyweight increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke, and several types of cancer. Today, nearly 3 in 4 U.S. adults are overweight or obese, with almost 1 in 10 adults having severe obesity. While staggering, these numbers are expected to increase. A recent study projects that by 2030 nearly half of U.S. adults will have obesity, with nearly a quarter of adults projected to have severe obesity. This is driven in part by the fact that 14.7 million U.S. children – 20 percent of the population – are already obese. 

“It is estimated that excess bodyweight is responsible for almost 500,000 deaths in the U.S. each year," said Churchill. "But in addition to the human toll, it is also an expensive disease that costs our healthcare system nearly $260 billion annually. We need to understand whether and how existing efforts to reduce the prevalence of obesity have worked, so that we can develop further strategies to address this public health crisis."

In collaboration with researchers from Vanderbilt University and University of Massachusetts Amherst, the research will explore how funding from the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity influences healthy eating and physical activity behaviors of Americans. As part of their project, the researchers will analyze the geography of funding, the timing and the size of the federal awards, and whether the funding was targeted toward specific demographic groups. 

Churchill’s research in this area of health policy, and the grant he received to support it, is another example of the evolving health policy research at AU SPA. From studying the health effects of climate change to analyzing the collective economic effects of individual risky behaviors, SPA is expanding research in areas that will assist in designing effective health policies.

“We are very excited that Prof. Churchill received this grant,” said SPA Interim Dean Alison Jacknowitz. “This research is exactly the type of work we aspire to at SPA, and we are looking forward to supporting his research and communicating its findings to the academic community, the policymaking world, and the public to advance health policy.”