Christie Befort, PhD
Assistant Professor
Focusing on research that examines strategies for improving behavioral obesity and exercise adherence, Christie collaborates with a multidisciplinary team from various departments across KU. Her background in behavioral medicine and health psychology allows great insight into the study of obesity. Recently completing the SWING Into Weight Loss study, Christie examined the benefit of motivational interviewing for improving adherence to a group-based behavioral weight loss program for African American women. Her research – supported by the National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program, the American Cancer Society and the KUMC Research Institute – has included an evaluation of the impact of affective responses to exercise, treating obesity in diverse populations, and the study of school environments and their relationship to childhood obesity. Christie enjoys chairing capstone projects for MPH students and providing lectures on theories related to motivating behavioral change.
BS Kinesiolgy University of Texas at Austin
MS Counseling Psychology Arizona State University
PhD Counseling Psychology Colorado State University
Residency Clinical Psychology VA Palo Alto Healthcare System
Coming from rural America (WV), the problem as I see is several fold:
a) Diets there still reflect a outdoor physical labor intense lifestyle. Which is not necessarily true today.
b) Modern advertising particularly TV bombards people with ads regarding stuff to eat, most of it bad. Also again the rural lifestyle has been disrupted by severe unemployment and much of the nature of employment that exists has changed. It is less physical demanding. Alot of rural folk watch a surpising lot of TV, which means a sendatary lifestyle.
Aside: I think there is an unrecognized unemployment tragedy is in rural America. I think this is a huge problem, This has been widely ignored by the MSM, opinion makers, those in politics and other "beautiful people".
C) Food stamps and now EBT can be used to purchase a completely unhealthy diet. This needs to be changed. If rules currently exist to stop this. They are clearly not enforced.
d) Huge huge epidemic of unwed mothers in rural America now Everytime I visit my little home town and talk to people, particularly those who are in education and/or work with young people. Basically the same incentives that crated 70% urbam black single mothers are at work here. WIC and other legislation is now making war on the idea of the rural traditional family. And what I find amazing all who point this out to me don't blame the Rats. Their solution is to shovel more money through those programs. (And all of these people identify themselves as "evangelical Christians"!) The lifestyles and diets of these "single moms" are almost never healthy.
I’d take a fat rural citizen over a skinny university professor any day.