Kristine A. Madsen, MD, MPH

Dr. Madsen is a pediatrician and research scientist with expertise in the design and evaluation of interventions related to pediatric obesity. She has directed clinic- and community-based studies aimed at increasing physical activity and reducing obesity among children of diverse backgrounds. She is currently affiliated with UC Berkeley’s Center for Weight and Health (CWH) where she is leading the evaluation of the impact of Sports4Kids, a school-based physical activity program, on child health. Dr. Madsen is conducting an analysis examining the relationship between children’s activity and the development of obesity in the Center’s 10-year longitudinal study, the NHLBI Growth and Health Study. She is also leading the Center’s evaluation of the fitness/physical activity data from the 19 intervention and control schools participating in The California Endowment’s Healthy Eating, Active Communities (TCE-HEAC) initiative to prevent childhood obesity. TCE-HEAC aims to improve the nutrition and physical activity environments in six low-income communities in California.

Dr. Madsen is the Principal Investigator on a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to conduct a randomized controlled trial of a national after-school program promoting literacy and physical activity among minority youth. Using accelerometers to objectively measure physical activity, this trial will evaluate the program’s impact on child weight status and activity, as well as related psychosocial factors including self-efficacy, perceived competence and social support. She is also a co-investigator on the Coast to Coast Initiative to Prevent and Control Child Obesity (C2C) project, an ongoing collaboration between the CWH and Harvard’s School of Public Health (HSPH). C2C will implement, evaluate and disseminate a comprehensive school-based program to prevent pediatric obesity. This project will focus on coordinated programs and policies to promote active, healthy lifestyles in the before-, during- and after-school settings.

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