Kelly David Brownell (born October 31, 1951) is a clinical psychologist and scholar of public health and public policy at Duke University whose work focuses on obesity and food policy. He is a former dean of Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy. Noted for his research dealing primarily with obesity prevention, as well as the intersection of behavior, environment, and health with public policy, Brownell advised former First Lady Michelle Obama's initiatives to address childhood obesity and has testified before Congress. He is credited with coining the term "yo-yo dieting", and was named as one of "The World's 100 Most Influential People" by Time Magazine in 2006.

Personal background

Brownell was born in 1951 and was raised in Indiana. After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Purdue University in 1973, he was awarded a Ph.D in Psychology from Rutgers University in 1977. His advisor was Oscar Krisen Buros Professor G. Terence Wilson.

Career

In 1977, Brownell became a member of the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania's medical school. He began as an assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry, was subsequently promoted to associate professor, and finally to full professor. During this period, he also served one year as a visiting scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NHI) National Cancer Institute (NCI). In 1991, he joined Yale University, where he held positions as the James Rowland Angell professor of psychology, professor of epidemiology and public health, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, chair of the department of psychology, and head of the undergraduate dormitory Silliman College. Brownell left Yale in 2013 to join Duke University as Dean of its Sanford School of Public Policy, in which role he continued until the end of the 2018 academic year. He holds academic appointments as the Robert L. Flowers Professor of Public Policy, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Director of the World Food Policy Center, and is a faculty affiliate of the Duke Global Health Institute. In 2017, backed by funding from the Duke Endowment, William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, Duke University announced the formation of its new World Food Policy Center (WFPC), based at the Sanford School of Public Policy. Brownell is the center's founder and director. To date, he has authored 15 books and more than 350 scientific articles, papers, and chapters. He has also contributed to mainstream media outlets. Brownell was previously president of the Society of Behavioral Medicine; Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy; and American Psychological Association, Division 38: Society for Health Psychology.

Impact

Brownell's 1986 paper, Understanding and Preventing Relapse, published in American Psychologist, was recognized at the time as one of the most frequently cited papers in psychology. Recognized for introducing the idea of food taxes as a means of improving public health in 1994, his work on soda taxes has been used by cities, states, and countries seeking to implement them as a public policy tool and tax revenue strategy. In commentary for Time Magazine's "Time 100 of 2006", former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee commented that Brownell had "helped set the U.S. agenda by calling for a ban on sweetened-cereal ads aimed at kids and a tax on high-fat, low-nutrition food." Brownell has also influenced popular culture. In addition to having coined the term "yo-yo dieting", he is also credited with introducing the phrase "toxic food environment" in his 2004 book, Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry. A frequent radio and television guest, he is the host of the Policy 360 podcast, and has appeared in a variety of feature films and documentaries:

Awards and honors

The Sanford School of Public Policy's Brownell-Whetten Diversity and Inclusion Award was established in 2016 to recognize the work of Brownell and fellow professor, Kate Whetten.

Selected works