Walter Willett

Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H. (born in 1945 in Hart, Michigan^[1]) is an American physician and nutrition researcher. Currently, Willett is the Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition and the chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. He is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.^[2]

Willett is the principal investigator ^[3] of the second Nurses' Health Study, a compilation of studies regarding the health of older women and their risk factors for major chronic diseases. He has published more than 1,000 scientific articles regarding various aspects of diet and disease ^[4] and is the second most cited author in clinical medicine.^[5]

Frequently in the public eye, Willett is perhaps best known for his 2001 book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, which presents nutritional information and recommendations based on what was then the consensus of nutrition scientists. His book is critical of many popular misconceptions about diet and nutrition, including ideas presented by guidelines from American organizations such as the USDA.^[6] Willett is frequently quoted by the media in articles regarding nutrition.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Education

• B.S. 1966, Michigan State University
• M.D. 1970, University of Michigan Medical School
• M.P.H. 1973, Harvard School of Public Health
• Dr.P.H. 1980, Harvard School of Public Health, Epidemiology
• Chair, 1991, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health ^[2]

Influence on Harvard meal plans and cafeterias

Willett has been actively involved in helping Harvard University food services to update their offerings along current nutritional guidelines. While his work has influenced the menu choices, students and Willett have noted that the menus still have a long way to go to reflect the currently available nutrition science.^[11][12]

Published works

"Of course, a lot of people would like to hear that it's no problem that they are overweight or obese," said Walter Willett, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chair of the Harvard School of Public Health's Department of Nutrition. "It causes a lot of confusion that's completely unnecessary."

• Nutritional Epidemiology 1998 ISBN 0-19-512297-6
• Eat, Drink, and be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide To Healthy Eating 2005 ISBN 0-684-86337-5
• Eat, Drink, and Weigh Less 2007 ISBN 1-4013-0892-9
• The Fertility Diet 2008 ISBN 0-07-149479-0
• More than 1,000 scientific articles ^[4]

References

External links

• Video - The Search for Optimal Diets: A Progress Report Walter Willett, M.D., M.P.H., speaks at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health] (the first few minutes are missing from the video)
• Transcript - The search for Optimal Diets: A Progress Report presented at the Honda Foundation
• A PBS interview with Walter Willett
• Faculty listing for Walter Willett at Harvard
• Information on Eat, Drink, and be Healthy
• Article on Walter Willett and his findings on macronutrients
• Article on Walter Willett's views on epidemiology
• "Eating Well; At a Harvard Cafe, Health for Lunch", New York Times, November 19, 2003
• "At Harvard, Whole-Grain Concerns", The Washington Post, March 8, 2006
• Scientific American podcast: an interview of Professor Willett on 10-15-2008 on the subject of diet and fertility, Oct 15, 2008
• Diet and cancer: Status report in 2014, a talk given at the 2014 Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.