Photo of Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH

Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH

Massachusetts General Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital

Photo of Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH

Massachusetts General Hospital

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Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH

Massachusetts General Hospital

EDUCATIONAL TITLES

  • Associate Professor, Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School
  • Professor, Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
  • Professor, Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital

DF/HCC PROGRAM AFFILIATION

Research Abstract

The main focus of my research over the last two years has been examining the epidemiologic and health services research aspects of nutrition and physical activity as they affect child health.

In health services research and nutrition, I have completed a study of predictors of breastfeeding discontinuation among a large cohort of mother-newborn pairs. I am currently working on a prospective study of postpartum mothers to examine systems-level support for and barriers to breastfeeding continuation from the perspective of mothers and their clinicians. The results will help identify gaps that exist in current services for mothers who breastfeed and will help inform the design of intervention studies to promote and support breastfeeding continuation in primary care.

In physical activity and nutritional epidemiology, I have studied the longitudinal relationship between intake of fried food away from home and body mass index in older children and adolescents. This analysis has examined determinants of weight gain and diet quality among approximately 10,000 participants of the Growing Up Today Study. I recently presented the abstract and poster of the results to the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology. I have also completed a study of the social influences on adolescent physical activity among the Growing Up Today Study cohort.

In physical activity, I have conducted formative research of physical activity among inner-city middle school children. This work specifically examines adolescents’ perspective of the nutrition and physical activity counseling they receive from their health care providers. Together with the Harvard School of Public Health Prevention Research Center, I designed questions related to adolescents’ attitudes towards their health care providers counseling on nutrition and physical activity. The survey was administered to over 500 children in the Boston Public School system in the spring of 2003.

Publications from Harvard Catalyst Profiles

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  • Kruse GR, Lee RM, Aschbrenner KA, Daly JG, Dargon-Hart S, Davies ME, Gundersen DA, Pelton-Cairns L, Winickoff JP, Taveras E, Emmons KM, . Embedding community-engaged research principles in implementation science: The implementation science center for cancer control equity. J Clin Transl Sci 2023; 7:e82. PubMed
  • Palakshappa D, Lenoir K, Brown CL, Skelton JA, Block JP, Taveras EM, Lewis KH. Identifying geographic differences in children's sugar-sweetened beverage and 100% fruit juice intake using health system data. Pediatr Obes 2020. PubMed
  • Simione M, Sharifi M, Gerber MW, Marshall R, Avalon E, Fiechtner L, Horan C, Orav EJ, Skelton J, Taveras EM. Family-centeredness of childhood obesity interventions: psychometrics & outcomes of the family-centered care assessment tool. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2020; 18:179. PubMed
  • Whooten RC, Horan C, Cordes J, Dartley AN, Aguirre A, Taveras EM. Evaluating the Implementation of a Before-School Physical Activity Program: A Mixed-Methods Approach in Massachusetts, 2018. Preventing Chronic Disease 2020; 17:E116. PubMed
  • Atkins M, Castro I, Sharifi M, Perkins M, O'Connor G, Sandel M, Taveras EM, Fiechtner L. Unmet Social Needs and Adherence to Pediatric Weight Management Interventions: Massachusetts, 2017-2019. Am J Public Health 2020; 110:S251-S257. PubMed
  • Lewis KH, Skelton J, Hsu FC, Ezouah P, Taveras EM, Block JP. Use of Electronic Health Record Data to Study the Association of Sugary Drink Consumption with Child Weight Status. Acad Pediatr 2019. PubMed
  • Cradock AL, Barrett JL, Taveras EM, Peabody S, Flax CN, Giles CM, Gortmaker SL. Effects of a before-school program on student physical activity levels. Prev Med Rep 2019; 15:100940. PubMed
  • Davison KK, Gavarkovs A, McBride B, Kotelchuck M, Levy R, Taveras EM. Engaging Fathers in Early Obesity Prevention During the First 1,000 Days: Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Strategies. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2019; 27:525-533. PubMed
  • Bala N, Price SN, Horan CM, Gerber MW, Taveras EM. Use of Telehealth to Enhance Care in a Family-Centered Childhood Obesity Intervention. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 2019. PubMed
  • Hawkins SS, Baum CF, Rifas-Shiman SL, Oken E, Taveras EM. Examining Associations between Perinatal and Postnatal Risk Factors for Childhood Obesity Using Sibling Comparisons. Child Obes 2019. PubMed
  • Cheng ER, Nelson CC, Leung-Strle P, Colchamiro R, Taveras EM, Woo Baidal JA. Nutrition provider confidence in the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) study. Prev Med Rep 2019; 13:289-292. PubMed
  • Baskind MJ, Taveras EM, Gerber MW, Fiechtner L, Horan C, Sharifi M. Parent-Perceived Stress and Its Association With Children's Weight and Obesity-Related Behaviors. Preventing Chronic Disease 2019; 16:E39. PubMed
  • Duggan MP, Taveras EM, Gerber MW, Horan CM, Oreskovic NM. Presence of small screens in bedrooms is associated with shorter sleep duration and later bedtimes in children with obesity. Acad Pediatr 2018. PubMed
  • Lewis KH, Skelton JA, Hsu FC, Ezouah P, Taveras EM, Block JP. Implementing a novel electronic health record approach to track child sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Prev Med Rep 2018; 11:169-175. PubMed
  • Nelson CC, Colchamiro R, Perkins M, Taveras EM, Leung-Strle P, Kwass J, Woo Baidal JA. Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Effectiveness of a Multisector Childhood Obesity Prevention Intervention. Am J Public Health 2018; 108:1200-1206. PubMed
  • Agaronov A, Ash T, Sepulveda M, Taveras EM, Davison KK. Inclusion of Sleep Promotion in Family-Based Interventions to Prevent Childhood Obesity. Child Obes 2018. PubMed
  • Haines J, Douglas S, Mirotta JA, O'Kane C, Breau R, Walton K, Krystia O, Chamoun E, Annis A, Darlington GA, Buchholz AC, Duncan AM, Vallis LA, Spriet LL, Mutch DM, Brauer P, Allen-Vercoe E, Taveras EM, Ma DWL, . Guelph Family Health Study: pilot study of a home-based obesity prevention intervention. Can J Public Health 2018. PubMed
  • Fiechtner L, Perkins M, Biggs V, Langhans N, Sharifi M, O'Connor G, Price S, Locascio J, Kuhlthau K, Kwass JA, Nelson C, Land T, Longjohn M, Lawson V, Hohman K, Taveras EM. Rationale and design of the Clinic and Community Approaches to Healthy Weight Randomized Trial. Contemp Clin Trials 2018; 67:16-22. PubMed
  • Whooten RC, Perkins ME, Gerber MW, Taveras EM. Effects of Before-School Physical Activity on Obesity Prevention and Wellness. Am J Prev Med 2018; 54:510-518. PubMed
  • Criss S, Blaine RE, Palamé M, Perkins M, Davison K, Kwass JA, Taveras EM, . Health Marketing for the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Study: A Case Study. Health Promot Pract 2018. PubMed
  • Baranowski T, Taveras EM. Childhood Obesity Prevention: Changing the Focus. Child Obes 2018; 14:1-3. PubMed
  • Armstrong S, Mendelsohn A, Bennett G, Taveras EM, Kimberg A, Kemper AR. Texting Motivational Interviewing: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Motivational Interviewing Text Messages Designed to Augment Childhood Obesity Treatment. Child Obes 2018; 14:4-10. PubMed
  • Blake-Lamb T, Boudreau AA, Matathia S, Tiburcio E, Perkins ME, Roche B, Kotelchuck M, Shtasel D, Price SN, Taveras EM. Strengthening integration of clinical and public health systems to prevent maternal-child obesity in the First 1,000Days: A Collective Impact approach. Contemp Clin Trials 2017; 65:46-52. PubMed
  • Sharifi M, Franz C, Horan CM, Giles CM, Long MW, Ward ZJ, Resch SC, Marshall R, Gortmaker SL, Taveras EM. Cost-Effectiveness of a Clinical Childhood Obesity Intervention. Pediatrics 2017. PubMed
  • Ash T, Taveras EM. Associations of short sleep duration with childhood obesity and weight gain: summary of a presentation to the National Academy of Science's Roundtable on Obesity Solutions. Sleep Health 2017; 3:389-392. PubMed
  • Moran AJ, Rimm EB, Taveras EM. A School-Based Brand Marketing Program's Adherence to Federal Nutrition Criteria. Am J Prev Med 2017. PubMed
  • Fiechtner L, Puente GC, Sharifi M, Block JP, Price S, Marshall R, Blossom J, Gerber MW, Taveras EM. A Community Resource Map to Support Clinical-Community Linkages in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Childhood Obesity, Eastern Massachusetts, 2014-2016. Preventing Chronic Disease 2017; 14:E53. PubMed
  • Woo Baidal JA, Nelson CC, Perkins M, Colchamiro R, Leung-Strle P, Kwass JA, Gortmaker SL, Davison KK, Taveras EM. Childhood obesity prevention in the women, infants, and children program: Outcomes of the MA-CORD study. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2017; 25:1167-1174. PubMed
  • Franckle RL, Falbe J, Gortmaker S, Barrett JL, Giles C, Ganter C, Blaine RE, Buszkiewicz J, Taveras EM, Kwass JA, Land T, Davison KK. Student obesity prevalence and behavioral outcomes for the massachusetts childhood obesity research demonstration project. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2017; 25:1175-1182. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Perkins M, Anand S, Woo Baidal JA, Nelson CC, Kamdar N, Kwass JA, Gortmaker SL, Barrett JL, Davison KK, Land T. Clinical effectiveness of the massachusetts childhood obesity research demonstration initiative among low-income children. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2017; 25:1159-1166. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Marshall R, Sharifi M, Avalon E, Fiechtner L, Horan C, Gerber MW, Orav EJ, Price SN, Sequist T, Slater D. Comparative Effectiveness of Clinical-Community Childhood Obesity Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr 2017. PubMed
  • Fiechtner L, Cheng ER, Lopez G, Sharifi M, Taveras EM. Multilevel Correlates of Healthy BMI Maintenance and Return to a Healthy BMI among Children in Massachusetts. Child Obes 2017. PubMed
  • Sharifi M, Sequist TD, Rifas-Shiman SL, Melly SJ, Duncan DT, Horan CM, Smith RL, Marshall R, Taveras EM. The role of neighborhood characteristics and the built environment in understanding racial/ethnic disparities in childhood obesity. Prev Med 2016; 91:103-109. PubMed
  • Cheng ER, Rifas-Shiman SL, Perkins ME, Rich-Edwards JW, Gillman MW, Wright R, Taveras EM. The Influence of Antenatal Partner Support on Pregnancy Outcomes. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2016. PubMed
  • Hawkins SS, Gillman MW, Rifas-Shiman SL, Kleinman KP, Mariotti M, Taveras EM. The Linked CENTURY Study: linking three decades of clinical and public health data to examine disparities in childhood obesity. BMC Pediatr 2016; 16:32. PubMed
  • Belfort MB, Rifas-Shiman SL, Kleinman KP, Bellinger DC, Harris MH, Taveras EM, Gillman MW, Oken E. Infant Breastfeeding Duration and Mid-Childhood Executive Function, Behavior, and Social-Emotional Development. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2015. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Davison KK, Perkins ME, Gortmaker S, Land T. In Reply to Dr. Anchondo and the Ellyn Satter Institute RE: MA-CORD. Child Obes 2015; 11:733-4. PubMed
  • Cespedes EM, Hu FB, Redline S, Rosner B, Gillman MW, Rifas-Shiman SL, Taveras EM. Chronic insufficient sleep and diet quality: Contributors to childhood obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2015. PubMed
  • Blaine RE, Fisher JO, Taveras EM, Geller AC, Rimm EB, Land T, Perkins M, Davison KK. Reasons Low-Income Parents Offer Snacks to Children: How Feeding Rationale Influences Snack Frequency and Adherence to Dietary Recommendations. Nutrients 2015; 7:5982-99. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Marshall R, Kleinman KP, Gillman MW, Hacker K, Horan CM, Smith RL, Price S, Sharifi M, Rifas-Shiman SL, Simon SR. Comparative effectiveness of childhood obesity interventions in pediatric primary care: a cluster-randomized clinical trial. JAMA Pediatr 2015; 169:535-42. PubMed
  • Blaine RE, Davison KK, Hesketh K, Taveras EM, Gillman MW, Benjamin Neelon SE. Child Care Provider Adherence to Infant and Toddler Feeding Recommendations: Findings from the Baby Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (Baby NAP SACC) Study. Child Obes 2015; 11:304-13. PubMed
  • Benjamin Neelon SE, Taveras EM, Ostbye T, Gillman MW. Preventing obesity in infants and toddlers in child care: results from a pilot randomized controlled trial. Matern Child Health J 2014. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Gillman MW, Peña MM, Redline S, Rifas-Shiman SL. Chronic sleep curtailment and adiposity. Pediatrics 2014; 133:1013-22. PubMed
  • Arsenault LN, Xu K, Taveras EM, Hacker KA. Parents' obesity-related behavior and confidence to support behavioral change in their obese child: data from the STAR study. Acad Pediatr 2014. PubMed
  • Cespedes EM, Horan CM, Gillman MW, Gortmaker SL, Price S, Rifas-Shiman SL, Mitchell K, Taveras EM. Participant characteristics and intervention processes associated with reductions in television viewing in the High Five for Kids study. Prev Med 2014; 62:64-70. PubMed
  • Stanford FC, Taveras EM. The Massachusetts school-based body mass index experiment: gleaning implementation lessons for future childhood obesity reduction efforts. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2014; 22:973-5. PubMed
  • Gortmaker SL, Taveras EM. Who becomes obese during childhood--clues to prevention. N Engl J Med 2014; 370:475-6. PubMed
  • Wright DR, Taveras EM, Gillman MW, Horan CM, Hohman KH, Gortmaker SL, Prosser LA. The cost of a primary care-based childhood obesity prevention intervention. BMC Health Serv Res 2014; 14:44. PubMed
  • Cheng JK, Wen X, Coletti KD, Cox JE, Taveras EM. 2-Year BMI Changes of Children Referred for Multidisciplinary Weight Management. Int J Pediatr 2014; 2014:152586. PubMed
  • Martínez-Andrade GO, Cespedes EM, Rifas-Shiman SL, Romero-Quechol G, González-Unzaga MA, Benítez-Trejo MA, Flores-Huerta S, Horan C, Haines J, Taveras EM, Pérez-Cuevas R, Gillman MW. Feasibility and impact of Creciendo Sanos, a clinic-based pilot intervention to prevent obesity among preschool children in Mexico City. BMC Pediatr 2014; 14:77. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Marshall R, Horan CM, Gillman MW, Hacker K, Kleinman KP, Koziol R, Price S, Rifas-Shiman SL, Simon SR. Improving children's obesity-related health care quality: process outcomes of a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2014; 22:27-31. PubMed
  • Haines J, McDonald J, O'Brien A, Sherry B, Bottino CJ, Schmidt ME, Taveras EM. Healthy Habits, Happy Homes: randomized trial to improve household routines for obesity prevention among preschool-aged children. JAMA Pediatr 2013; 167:1072-9. PubMed
  • Cespedes EM, McDonald J, Haines J, Bottino CJ, Schmidt ME, Taveras EM. Obesity-related behaviors of US- and non-US-born parents and children in low-income households. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2013; 34:541-8. PubMed
  • Sonneville KR, Rifas-Shiman SL, Haines J, Gortmaker S, Mitchell KF, Gillman MW, Taveras EM. Associations of parental control of feeding with eating in the absence of hunger and food sneaking, hiding, and hoarding. Child Obes 2013; 9:346-9. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Gillman MW, Kleinman KP, Rich-Edwards JW, Rifas-Shiman SL. Reducing racial/ethnic disparities in childhood obesity: the role of early life risk factors. JAMA Pediatr 2013; 167:731-8. PubMed
  • Patterson RE, Colditz GA, Hu FB, Schmitz KH, Ahima RS, Brownson RC, Carson KR, Chavarro JE, Chodosh LA, Gehlert S, Gill J, Glanz K, Haire-Joshu D, Herbst KL, Hoehner CM, Hovmand PS, Irwin ML, Jacobs LA, James AS, Jones LW, Kerr J, Kibel AS, King IB, Ligibel JA, Meyerhardt JA, Natarajan L, Neuhouser ML, Olefsky JM, Proctor EK, Redline S, Rock CL, Rosner B, Sarwer DB, Schwartz JS, Sears DD, Sesso HD, Stampfer MJ, Subramanian SV, Taveras EM, Tchou J, Thompson B, Troxel AB, Wessling-Resnick M, Wolin KY, Thornquist MD. The 2011-2016 Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) initiative: rationale and design. Cancer Causes Control 2013; 24:695-704. PubMed
  • Sharifi M, Dryden EM, Horan CM, Price S, Marshall R, Hacker K, Finkelstein JA, Taveras EM. Leveraging text messaging and mobile technology to support pediatric obesity-related behavior change: a qualitative study using parent focus groups and interviews. J Med Internet Res 2013; 15:e272. PubMed
  • Boeke CE, Oken E, Kleinman KP, Rifas-Shiman SL, Taveras EM, Gillman MW. Correlations among adiposity measures in school-aged children. BMC Pediatr 2013; 13:99. PubMed
  • Sharifi M, Marshall G, Marshall R, Bottino C, Goldman R, Sequist T, Taveras EM. Accelerating progress in reducing childhood obesity disparities: exploring best practices of positive outliers. J Health Care Poor Underserved 2013; 24:193-9. PubMed
  • Gillman MW, Rifas-Shiman SL, Kleinman K, Oken E, Rich-Edwards JW, Taveras EM. Developmental Origins of Childhood Overweight: Potential Public Health Impact. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2008; 16:1651-6. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Rifas-Shiman SL, Oken E, Gunderson EP, Gillman MW. Short sleep duration in infancy and risk of childhood overweight. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2008; 162:305-11. PubMed
  • Spear BA, Barlow SE, Ervin C, Ludwig DS, Saelens BE, Schetzina KE, Taveras EM. Recommendations for treatment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity. Pediatrics 2007; 120 Suppl 4:S254-88. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Sobol AM, Hannon C, Finkelstein D, Wiecha J, Gortmaker SL. Youths' perceptions of overweight-related prevention counseling at a primary care visit. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2007; 15:831-6. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Field AE, Berkey CS, Rifas-Shiman SL, Frazier AL, Colditz GA, Gillman MW. Longitudinal relationship between television viewing and leisure-time physical activity during adolescence. Pediatrics 2007; 119:e314-9. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Rifas-Shiman SL, Scanlon KS, Grummer-Strawn LM, Sherry B, Gillman MW. To what extent is the protective effect of breastfeeding on future overweight explained by decreased maternal feeding restriction? Pediatrics 2006; 118:2341-8. PubMed
  • Taveras EM, Sandora TJ, Shih MC, Ross-Degnan D, Goldmann DA, Gillman MW. The association of television and video viewing with fast food intake by preschool-age children. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2006; 14:2034-41. PubMed
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Similar Members

DF/HCC members that share similar concepts* with Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH but have yet to coauthor a publication with this researcher.

* Concepts are MeSH terms, automatically derived from member publications

Similar Members