About

Our team researches policies and programs that promote healthy eating and active living for children and their families. We focus on strategies that are cost-effective and have good evidence for effectiveness for improving population health. We also help partners put these strategies into place in community settings. Based within the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, we are members of a national network of Prevention Research Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Working closely with collaborators, community partners, and our Community Advisory Board, we aim to:  

• Work with partners to evaluate large scale community initiatives, developing evidence-based interventions using rigorous study designs so we know what really works 
• Promote widespread adoption of cost-effective and evidence-based prevention strategies to promote healthy eating and active living to make sure public resources are spent wisely
• Offer resources, tools, curricula, and professional training opportunities that promote healthy eating and active living so that anyone can put our research into practice
• Conduct training and mentoring activities for faculty, staff, students, and partners to increase capacity to conduct community-engaged research

When children establish healthy eating and physical activity behaviors early on in life, they are more likely to stay healthy throughout the rest of their lives. Eating nutritious foods, moving more, drinking water, reducing sugary drink consumption, and reducing exposure to the marketing of unhealthy foods and drinks can all contribute to better health outcomes for both children and adults. Our research focuses on advancing these key priority areas through a cost-effectiveness lens to improve population health by promoting healthy eating and active living and preventing chronic disease. 

We provide resources, training, and support to leaders and staff in organizations whose work directly influences opportunities for improving the health of children and their families. These include:  

• Public health agencies at the state, county, and city levels  
• Departments of education and local education agencies  
• Community-based organizations that provide services or support for children and their families  
• Health care settings that provide care and services to children and their families  
• Students, researchers, and future public health leaders  

The Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HPRC) is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U48DP006376 and U48DP006785). The findings and conclusions are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or other funders.