Sarah E. Anderson, PhD
Professor
Epidemiology
“Epidemiology is about making sense of data towards the goal of improving population health. This wide scope encourages a multidisciplinary perspective and has supported my research on children and families. I feel lucky to have found a home in public health.”
Biography
Dr. Anderson's research focuses on understanding psychosocial influences on children's growth and development with a particular focus on childhood obesity prevention. Her research has contributed to the understanding of obesity in preschool-aged children through analyses of large cohort studies including the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) and the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (FACES). Active projects include a longitudinal study of mealtimes and self-regulation in toddlers in collaboration with Nationwide Children's Hospital, as well as analyses of the UK Millenium Cohort Study and the Growing Up in New Zealand Study. She has mentored students at the doctoral, masters and undergraduate level and teaches courses on obesity epidemiology, introduction to epidemiology, survey methodology, and PhD research seminar.
Education
- Ph.D.
- Nutritional Epidemiology, Tufts University, 2006
- M.S.
- Nutritional Epidemiology, Tufts University, 2002
- A.B.
- Biology, Vassar College, 1997
Research interests
understanding psychosocial influences on children's growth and development with a particular focus on childhood obesity prevention
Zvara BJ, Keim SA, Andridge R, Anderson SE. Variability in parenting behaviors during play and during mealtimes with toddlers. Infant and Child Development 2023; e2447. doi:10.1002/icd.2447.
MacNeill LA, Zvara BJ, Anderson SE. Association between maternal closeness with parents and mother-toddler relationship quality. Family Relations 2023. doi:10.1111/fare.12910.
Parrott A, Zvara BJ, Keim SA, Andridge R, Anderson SE. Play & Grow: prospective observational cohort of toddlers to inform obesity prevention. BMJ Open 2022; 12: e055490. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055490
Sullivan JA*, Zvara BJ, Keim SA, Andridge R, Anderson SE. Knowledge of infant development and parent well-being: cross-sectional analysis of toddlers. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 2021; 42(6): 442-449. doi:10.1097/DBP.0000000000000918.
Weber ZA*, Shoben A, Anderson SE. Impact of life events on short-term change in BMI in early and middle childhood. Obesity 2020; 28: 347-352. doi:10.1002/oby.22716
Bergmeier H, Paxton PJ, Milgrom J, Anderson SE, Baur L, Hill B, Lim S, Green R, Skouteris H. Early mother-child dyadic pathways to childhood obesity risk: a conceptual model. Appetite 2020; 144: 104459. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.104459
Krupsky KL*, Andridge RR, Anderson SE. Residential mobility in early childhood and obesity at kindergarten-age among children from the United States. Pediatric Obesity 2020; 15(2): e12576. DOI:10.1111/ijpo.12576
Zvara BJ, Keim S, Boone K, Anderson SE. Associations between parenting behavior and executive function among preschool-aged children born very preterm. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 2019; 48:317-324. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.01.012
Anderson SE, Whitaker RC. Association of self-regulation with obesity in boys vs girls in a US national sample. JAMA Pediatrics.2018; 172(9):842-850. DOI:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.1413
Gerritsen SC, Anderson SE, Morton S, Wall C. Preschool nutrition-related behaviours at home and early education services: findings from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study. Public Health Nutrition. 2018; 21(7):1222-1231. DOI:10.1017/S1368980017004116
Anderson SE, Sacker A, Whitaker RC, Kelly Y. Self-regulation and household routines at age three and obesity at age eleven: longitudinal analysis of the UK Millennium Cohort Study. International Journal of Obesity. 2017; 41: 1459-1466. DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2017.94
Tumin R*, Anderson SE. Television, home-cooked meals, and family meal frequency: associations with adult obesity. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2017; 117(6): 937-45.
Bandini LG, Curtin C, Phillips S, Anderson SE, Maslin M, Must A. Changes in food selectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2017; 47(2), 439-446.
Anderson SE, Andridge R, Whitaker RC. Bedtime in preschool-aged children and risk for adolescent obesity. Journal of Pediatrics 2016; 176: 17-22.
Anderson SE, Ramsden M*, Kaye G. Diet qualities: healthy and unhealthy aspects of diet quality in preschool children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2016; 103(6): 1507-1513.
Anderson SE, Keim SA. Parent-child interaction, self-regulation, and obesity prevention in early childhood. Current Obesity Reports 2016; 5(2): 192-200.
Tumin R*, Anderson SE. The epidemiology of family meals among Ohio's adults. Public Health Nutrition 2015; 18(8): 1474-1481.
*denotes mentored student