Physical Activity Task Force

Steering Committee

Peter Katzmarzyk, Canada (Chair)

Adrian Bauman, Australia

Steven N Blair, USA

Claude Bouchard, USA

William Haskell, USA

Vicki Lambert, South Africa
Victor Matsudo, Brazil

Nanette Mutrie, Scotland
Jean-Michel Oppert, France

Michael Pratt, USA

Hiroaki Tanaka, Japan

Willem van Mechelen, The Netherlands

Susan B. Sisson, USA (Coordinator)

Peter Katzmarzyk, Ph.D.,  PATF Chair

Dr. Katzmarzyk is currently Professor and Associate Executive Director for Population Science at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He obtained a PhD in Exercise Science from Michigan State University in 1997, and pursued post-doctoral education at Laval University in 1998.  Dr. Katzmarzyk began his career at York University where he was promoted to Associate Professor before moving to Queen's University in 2002 and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in 2007. Dr. Katzmarzyk's main research interest is the epidemiology and public health impact of obesity and physical inactivity, and determining the impact of physical activity and physical fitness on obesity and related disorders such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. He has a strong record of collaborative research on major research projects, including the Québec Family Study, the HERITAGE Family Study, the Canada Fitness Survey, the Bogalusa Heart Study, and the Canadian Heart Health Surveys. He has published his findings in more than 150 scholarly journals and books, and regularly participates in the scientific meetings of several national and international organizations. He has supported his research with approximately $4 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and other national funding bodies.  Dr. Katzmarzyk serves as an associate editor for Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism and as a reviewer and editorial board member for several other scientific journals. He is a member of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO), and the Human Biology Association. Dr. Katzmarzyk was the recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology in 2002 and the New Investigator Award from the American College of Sports Medicine in 2003.

Adrian Bauman, MB, BS, MPH, Ph.D., FAFPHM
For the past 20 years Adrian Bauman has had diverse research interests in health promotion and epidemiology, with an emphasis on disease prevention research, particularly physical activity and public health. He has published more than 200 peer reviewed scientific papers, 40 monographs and book chapters, and three books, and has extensive research experience in public health approaches to increasing physical activity and interventions to improve risk factor profiles. In addition, he has interests in quantitative health promotion research methods, adolescent health surveillance, evaluating community wide interventions and evaluating of health related mass media campaigns and patient education programs.

He has had extensive experience in the design, implementation and analysis of behavioural risk factor surveys at the population level, and has carried out such surveys in developed and developing countries for adults and adolescents. These have focused particularly on cardiovascular risk factors, such as physical inactivity, diet and tobacco use, but have also ranged across other areas of behavioural and social epidemiology.

He has special interests in Physical activity and Public Health, and directs the New South Wales Centre for Physical Activity and Health, has chaired the Australian National Heart Foundation National Physical Activity committee 1996-2002, and was Chair of the New South Wales Premier's Taskforce on Physical activity 1996-2003.

Current positions:

• Sesquicentenary Professor of Public Health (Behavioural Epidemiology and Health Promotion), School of Public Health, University of Sydney 2006 Australia
• Director, NSW Centre for Physical Activity and Health 2002-present
• Director, Australian Centre for Health Promotion, Sydney University 2000-present
• Adjunct Professor, Human Movement and Exercise Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne
• Adjunct Professor of Human Movement, University of Queensland , St Lucia Brisbane Qld
• Former position: 1993-Jan 2004 - Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology , University of NSW, Sydney Australia

Adrian has other positions related to physical activity in Australia and elsewhere, and in 2002-3 served on the WHO Reference Group for the Global Physical Activity and Diet strategy, and directed the Data Management Centre for the IPAQ (WHO/CDC/Karolinska) international studies of the reliability, validity and prevalence of physical activity.

Other work:
Adrian also has longstanding interests in mental health epidemiology, in population-level adolescent surveillance, in health service research, and has taught extensively to medical students and to public health postgraduate students in disease prevention, evidence based medicine, epidemiology, health promotion and public health.

Steven N. Blair, P.E.D.

Steven N. Blair is Professor in the Departments of Exercise Science and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina; and Executive Lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation, University of North Texas. He also is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the College of Education at the University of Houston. He is a Benjamin Meaker Fellow at the University of Bristol, England. Dr. Blair is a Fellow in the American College of Epidemiology, Society for Behavioral Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine, American Heart Association, and American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education; and was elected to membership in the American Epidemiological Society.

Dr. Blair is a past-president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, and the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Dr. Blair is the recipient of three honorary doctoral degrees--Doctor Honoris Causa degree from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium; Doctor of Health Science degree from Lander University, U.S.; and Doctor of Science Honoris Causa, University of Bristol, UK. He has received awards from many professional associations, including a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, ACSM Honor Award, Robert Levy Lecture Award from the American Heart Association, and is one of the few individuals outside the U.S. Public Health Service to be awarded the Surgeon General's Medallion. He has delivered lectures to medical, scientific, and lay groups in 48 states and 30 countries. His research focuses on the associations between lifestyle and health, with a specific emphasis on exercise, physical fitness, body composition, and chronic disease. He has published over 360 papers and chapters in the scientific literature, and was the Senior Scientific Editor for the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health.

Claude Bouchard, B.Ped., MSc, Ph.D.

Claude Bouchard is the Executive Director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the George A. Bray Chair in Nutrition. He holds a B.Ped. (Laval), a M.Sc. (University of Oregon, Eugene) in exercise physiology and a Ph.D. (University of Texas, Austin) in population genetics. His research deals with the genetics of adaptation to exercise and to nutritional interventions as well as the genetics of obesity and its co-morbidities. He has authored and coauthored several books and more than 900 scientific papers. Among other awards, he was the recipient of the Honor Award from the Canadian Association of Sport Sciences in 1988, a Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine in 1992 and the Honor Award in 2002, the Benjamin Delessert Award in nutrition from France in 1993, Belgium award of Officer of the Order of Leopold II in 1994, the Willendorf Award from the International Association for the Study of Obesity in 1994, the Sandoz Award from the Canadian Atherosclerosis Society in 1996, the Albert Creff Award in Nutrition of the National Academy of Medicine of France in 1997, the TOPS award from the North American Association for the Study of Obesity in 1998, the W. Henry Sebrell Award from the Weight Watchers Foundation in 1999, and of a Honoris Causa Doctorate in Science from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1998. He is a foreign member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium since 1996, and was the Leon Mow Visiting Professor at the International Diabetes Institute inMelbourne in 1998. He received the 2005 Earle W. Crampton Award in Nutrition from McGill University. In 2001, he became a member of the Order of Canada as well as Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University. In 2003 he received the Alumnus of the Year Award from Laval University and in 2005 he became a Knight in the Ordre National du Quebec. Dr. Bouchard is past president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity and the president of the International Association for the Study of Obesity (2002-2006). Prior to coming to Pennington, he held the Donald B. Brown Research Chair on Obesity at Laval University where he was the Director of the Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory for about 20 years. His research has been funded by various agencies in Canada and the USA, but mainly by the National Institutes of Health.

William Haskell, Ph.D.

He is Professor of Medicine (active emeritus) in the Center for Prevention Research and the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, School of Medicine at Stanford University. He has been a member of the faculty at Stanford University for the past 34 years with primary interests in applied and clinical research in preventive cardiology, cardiac rehabilitation and successful aging. Of particular interest has been the role of habitual physical activity in metabolic and hemodynamic factors contributing to cardiovascular disease risk. He has been actively involved in the development and evaluation of various procedures for assessing physical activity in free-living populations, including the use of questionnaires and various biomarkers. Much of his recent and current research is directed at the integration of lifestyle changes with medical management in the primary and secondary prevention of selected chronic diseases and the promotion of successful aging.

Vicky Lambert, Ph.D.

Professor Estelle (Vicki) Lambert is an exercise physiologist with training in epidemiology, currently working in the UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town. She has authored or co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed, scientific publications or monographs. She is actively involved in research on the role of physical activity for public health purposes in South Africa, and has acted as a consultant to the United States Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization (WHO) on issues related to the Economic Burden of Inactivity; Role of Diet and Activity in the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, and Developing a Global Policy for Promoting Physical Activity for Health. She currently serves on the Physical Activity Task Force for the International Association for the Study of Obesity. Her other research thrusts include the study genotype-phenotype interactions and the determinants of obesity in South African women, the underlying mechanisms of the foetal origins of chronic disease, and the study metabolic and neurobiological signals that are associated with fatigue during exercise, and the maintenance of homeostasis.

Victor Matsudo, MD

Chairman of Agita Sao Paulo Program and Chairman of the Physical Activity Network for the Americas.   He is a Physician- Orthopedics, Traumatology and Sports Medicine.   He is also a full Professor of Medicine - University Gama Filho, President of Physical Fitness Research Center of São Caetano do Sul – CELAFISCS, General manager of Programa Agita São Paulo – Health State Secretary of São Paulo.   He is a member of the International Consultative Group on Active Living of World Health Organization (WHO) and a member of Executive Board and Regional Director of the International Council of Sports Sciences and Physical Education ICSSPE/CIEPSS affiliated to UNESCO.  

He was winner of the International Prize of Sports Medicine in the Olympics, BARCELONA,1992, the International Prize "Philip Noël Baker " – Sports Medicine, 1995, & winner of the International Prize Principe Faisal of the International Federation of Physical Education,1996.

He is currently

• a member of the Talent Detection Commission of the International Olympic Committee, a 25-year Member of "American College of Sports Medicine",
• a Fellow of "American Academy of Kinisiology and Physical Education", a member of "International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry",
• a member of Executive Board of "International Council for Physical Activity and Fitness Research" (ICPAFR), a member of Medic Commission of Brazilian Olympic Committee,
• a member of Editorial Board of the European Physical Education Review Journal.  

He is also the Scientific Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Sports Sciences and a Member of the Editorial Board of the Brazilian Journals: Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte, Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde, Revista da Associação dos Professores de Educação Física de Londrina, Revista Kinesis, Revista Artus, Revista Âmbito de Medicina Esportiva, Revista Paranaense de Educação Física, Revista Movimento.    In addition he is a member of the Editorial Board of the following international journals: European Physical Education Review; Revista Antioqueña de Medicina Deportiva; Acta Colombiana de Medicina del Deporte.

Nanette Mutrie, Ph.D.

Nanette Mutrie is Professor of Exercise and Sport Psychology at Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland and is also a Visiting Professor at the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow.   She trained as a Physical Education teacher and after working in schools and at Glasgow University she went to the Pennsylvania State University USA with a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a PhD which she achieved in 1986. Research interests include promotion of physical activity for both clinical and normal populations. Nanette has recently been awarded a research contract from NHS Health Scotland to set up the Scottish Physical Activity Research Collaboration (www.sparcoll.org.uk). See also webpage http://www.strath.ac.uk/sca/staff/mutrienanetteprofessorofexerciseandsportpsychology/

Jean-Michel Oppert, MD, Ph.D.

Jean-Michel Oppert graduated as MD with a specialisation in endocrinology and metabolism and holds a Ph.D. in human nutrition. He is Professor of Nutrition at University Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6 (Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6 Medical School) and his current clinical position is at the Department of Nutrition, Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, Paris.

He has served as member of the Board of the French Association for the Study of Obesity (AFERO) from 2000 to 2006. He is currently member of the Steering Committee of the IASO Physical Activity Task Force. He is also member of the European Diabetes Epidemiology Group (EDEG) of EASD. In 2003-2004, he was member of the advisory committee for the national campaign on physical activity and health, launched in the framework of the French National Nutrition and Health Programme. He has been a member of the Executive Committee of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) since 2000, first as Treasurer (2000-2006) and, since 2006, as President-Elect.

Michael Pratt, MD, MPH

Dr. Pratt is based at the Physical Activity and Health Branch, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Public Health Service.

He directs CDC's World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Physical Activity and Health Promotion, and coordinates physical activity research as the leader for the research and development team within the Physical Activity and Health Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is the Principal Investigator for Project MOVE, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded study of the cost effectiveness of physical activity interventions and an application of health impact assessment methods to policy and infrastructure changes that may influence physical activity. He also serves as a senior advisor to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded national program office for Active Living Research. He completed both a Masters degree in exercise physiology and his Medical Degree at the University of Washington in Seattle. He received medical residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and at CDC, and earned a Masters degree in Public Health at the University of Minnesota. He is board certified in General Preventive Medicine and Public Health and is a Fellow in the American College of Preventive Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Pratt's research interests include increasing global public health capacity to address physical activity, environmental and policy approaches to increasing participation in physical activity, the economic impact of physical inactivity, physical activity epidemiology, and physical activity counselling by health professionals. He has published more than 80 scientific articles and spoken widely on the health aspects of physical activity. He is also an avid runner, an occasional swimmer, cyclist and hiker, and enjoyed coaching his sons' high school cross country and track teams.

Hiroaki Tanaka, MD

Professor Hiroaki Tanaka is based at Fukuoka University in the Faculty of Sports and Health Science in Japan.   Specific research interests include environmental physiology (includes sports medicine/nutritional physiology), sports science, public hygiene studies/health science exercise physiology, physical fitness, health science. 

Current research themes

• Study on exercise prescription
• Study on Exercise and Metabolism and endocrinological function
• Study on Myocardial Oxygen Demand during Graded Exercise Test
• Study on the assessment of daily physical activity
• Study on the gene expression by exercise.

Willem van Mechelen, MD, Ph.D., FACSM, FECSS

Professor Willem van Mechelen was born and raised in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After completion of his training as a PE-teacher he worked for 9 years at an Amsterdam high school. He combined this with studying medicine at the University of Amsterdam. After his certification as an MD in 1982 he started working at various out-patient clinics as a sports and occupational physician. He also started in that year his scientific career with a part-time appointment at the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences of the VU University in Amsterdam. He earned his PhD in Human Movement Sciences in 1992. Currently, he is employed by the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam as a full professor of Occupational and Sports Medicine. In this capacity he is the head of the Department of Public and Occupational Health, co-director of the Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, vice-dean of the Netherlands School of Public and Occupational Health and director of Research Centre Body@Work TNO VUmc (www.bodyatwork.nl). He leads a group of about 50 persons who conduct primary care research in the area of work, physical activity, sport and health. Willem van Mechelen is a board certified occupational physician, epidemiologist and human movement scientist. He is a member of a great number of (inter-)national committees and advisory boards. He also is a member of the editorial board of 9 international peer-reviewed journals.

Susan B. Sisson, Ph.D., PATF coordinator

Dr. Sisson earned her Master of Science degree from the University of Oklahoma in Health and Exercise Science. Her doctoral work was in the Walking Research  Laboratory in the Department of Exercise and Wellness at Arizona State University under the mentorship of Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke. While at ASU, her research interests were in the social-ecological influence on physical activity behaviour, and objective measurement of physical activity. Populations of special interests are those underserved, minority and those of low socio-economic status, and youth. In the fall of 2007, she started to work as a postdoctoral fellow at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the newly formed Division of Population Science in the Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory under Dr. Peter T. Katzmarzyk. While at Pennington, Dr. Sisson's research involves the determination of public health impact of physical activity and chronic disease risk factors in large population samples. She is also involved in the formal mentoring of groups, post-doctoral seminar, and is advancing scientific and grant-writing skills.