Dr. Lorrene Ritchie

School of Public Health, Nutrition

Lorrene Ritchie, PhD, RD, is an Assistant Researcher at UC Berkeley's Center for Weight and Health (CWH). In recognition of the complexity and enormity of the health threat associated with the steep increase in obesity, Dr. Ritchie works at the CWH to promote the development of interdisciplinary, science-based and culturally relevant solutions to the obesity epidemic. To identify promising target behaviors for the prevention of obesity and its co-morbidities, she is involved in several evidence-based reviews of the scientific literature on the determinants of obesity. She also manages a research project to identify and track eating patterns and their relation to obesity in a large cohort of black and white girls followed from preadolescence through young adulthood. Such research, in addition to being critical to younger populations, may also be important for our understanding of metabolic disorders of old age.