Robert H. Lustig, MD is Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).[1] He is nationally recognized in the field of neuroendocrinology, with an emphasis on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system.[2] He has a special interest in childhood obesity.[2] He has become publicly notable through his efforts to draw attention to the effects that the natural sugar fructose can have on human and especially children's health if consumed in large amounts.[3] On May 26, 2009, Robert Lustig gave a lecture called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” which was posted on YouTube the following July and has become a viral success with over a million viewings.[3] In this lecture, Lustig notably calls fructose a "poison" and compares its metabolic effects with those of ethanol. Lustig is particularly critical of the widespread use of High Fructose Corn Syrup in the United States.
Robert Lustig grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan.[4] He obtained his bachelors degree from MIT in 1976, and received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1980.[5] From there, he spent six years as a research associate in neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University.[5] He performed his pediatric residency at St. Louis Children's Hospital, and his clinical fellowship at UCSF which he joined in 1984.[1][2]
He has authored over 85 research articles and 45 chapters. He is the former Chairman of the Obesity Task Force of the Pediatric Endocrine Society, a member of the Obesity Task force of The Endocrine Society, and on the Steering Committee of the International Endocrine Alliance to Combat Obesity.[1][5]