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A poster that shows who and what the STRONG Kids Program is

STRONG=Synergistic Theory and Research on Nutrition and Obesity Group

Overview

The STRONG Kids Program is a transdisciplinary research and education program that currently includes investigators from nutritional sciences, human development and family studies, kinesiology and community health, and social work. The program uses a cells-to-society approach to nutrition and will provide unique insights into how individual biology interacts with the family environment to promote healthy eating habits in young children. It is one of the first studies to take a longitudinal look at eating habits from a child’s birth, including milk and dairy consumption. The STRONG Kids 2 effort builds upon previous research from the STRONG Kids 1 study.

Subprojects

Several subprojects utilize STRONG Kids data to examine elements such as children’s media exposure and nutritional knowledge, parent-child relationships as potential moderators of health practices, and families’ health literacy as it relates to weight management and body image. The following are subprojects of the STRONG Kids Program.

Ongoing Subprojects

Completed Subprojects

Research Team

Principal Investigators

  • Barbara Fiese, Ph.D., Project Co-Director, Professor Emerita, Human Development and Family Studies
  • Sharon Donovan, Ph.D., R.D., Co-Principal Investigator, Professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition
  • Margarita Teran-Garcia, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Integrated Health Disparities Programs, University Extension

Co-Investigators 

  • Kelly Bost, Ph.D., Co-Investigator, Professor, Human Development and Family Studies
  • Naiman Khan, Ph.D., R.D., Co-Investigator, Associate Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
  • Soo-Yeun Lee, Ph.D., Co-Investigator, Professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition
  • Brent McBride, Co-Investigator, Ph.D., Director, Child Development Laboratory, Human Development and Family Studies
  • Jacinda Dariotis, Co-Investigator, Ph.D., Director, Family Resiliency Center
  • Diana Grigsby-Toussaint, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Epidemiology
  • Janet Liechty, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and College of Medicine
  • Margarita Teran-Garcia, Ph.D., MD, Assistant Professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition
  • Angela Wiley, Ph.D., Professor, Human Development and Family Science

Contact:
strongkids@illinois.edu