The overall aim of my research program is to improve the understanding of biological and environmental factors that promote obesity and chronic diseases.  On the biological side, we are studying how changes in substrate oxidation interact with stress responses and contribute to body fat distribution.  We are collaborating with investigators at the University of São Paulo, Brazil and the University of Southampton, UK where we have access to two large, unique cohorts.  In Brazil, we are working with a cohort of over 600 children for whom we have detailed measures of pre-natal health, post-natal growth, and socio-economic background.   In Southampton, we have completed a pilot study of metabolism and body composition in a small group of subjects from the Hertfordshire Cohort.  Both sets of data are being used as preliminary data for funding from NIH.  Finally, using data from the Union Army, we are studying how body mass index is associated with disease risk in veterans who were either short or normal height as adults.  This work is being conducted as a sub-contract with the University of Chicago, Center of Population Economics, and NIH P01 AG10120, Early Indicators of Later Work Levels, Disease and Death, PI: Robert W. Fogel, PhD.

On the environmental side, we are conducting a USDA-funded study on the dietary impact of multinational supermarkets in transitional countries, specifically in Bulgaria.  Our aim is to determine whether or not dietary quality differs between persons who shop exclusively at supermarket versus traditional public markets. Data collection was recently completed from this study and data analyses will be completed in the next few months. We recently initiated a second component of this study to determine how diets change following volatile economic changes, such as hyperinflation or economic transitions.  Also, using an animal model, we are studying how environmental toxins promote fat gain and epigenetic changes associated with endocrine disruptors tha may promote obesity.

In addition to the major activities of my program, there are several smaller studies that we have completed in the US.  First, we measured changes in body composition in college students as they begin their first year of university.  This work will be published this spring and we are expanding the study to collect data on activity and stress in a larger cohort over a 3-year period.  Second, we have measured school food intake using a plate-waste method to determine how much food children eat at schools, the dietary composition, and the proportion of fruits and vegetables consumed.  Finally, we have established an educational program for schools to understand what the BMI percentiles are and why monitoring them is important.  This programs is being disseminated throughout the state of NJ and will soon be availabe nationally.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:                                

Original, peer reviewed articles:

Daniel J. Hoffman, Ana L. Sawaya, Ieda Verreschi, Katherine Tucker, and Susan B. Roberts.  Why are nutritionally stunted children at increased risk of obesity? Studies of metabolic rate and fat oxidation in shantytown children from São Paulo, Brazil.  2000, Am J Clin Nutr, 72 (3): 702-707.

Daniel J. Hoffman, Susan B. Roberts, Paula A. Martins, Celia de Nascimento, Ana L. Sawaya.  Evidence for impaired regulation of energy intake in nutritionally stunted children from the shantytowns of São Paulo, Brazil. 2000, J Nutr, 130(9): 2265-2270.

Daniel J. Hoffman, Ana L. Sawaya, W. Andrew Coward, Paula A. Martins, Celia de Nascimento, and Susan B. Roberts.  Energy expenditure of stunted and non-stunted boys and girls living in the shantytowns of São Paulo, Brazil. 2000, Am J Clin Nutr 72(4): 1025-1031.

Daniel J. Hoffman. Obesity in developing countries: causes and implications. Food, Nutrition and Agriculture Review, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Volume 28, 2001.

M Heo, RL Leibel, BB Boyer, DJ Hoffman, DB Allison et al.  Pooling analysis of genetic data: an example of the association of LEPR polymorphisms with variables related to human adiposity. Genetics, 2001. 159(3): p. 1163-78.

Heo M. Leibel RL. Fontaine KR. Hoffman DJ. Gropp E. Allison DB et al. A meta-analytic investigation of linkage and association of common leptin receptor (LEPR) polymorphisms with body mass index and waist circumference.  International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders. 26(5):640-6.

Dossou-Idohou N , Wade S , Guiro AT, Sarr CS, Cisse D, Diaham B, Beau JP, Chapuis P, Hoffman DJ and Lemonnier D. Nutritional status of pre-school Senegalese children: Long-term effects of early severe malnutrition.  British  Journal of Nutrition, 2003. 90 (6):1123-1132.

Paula A. Martins, Daniel J. Hoffman, M. Teresa B. Fernandes, Celia R. de Nascimento, Susan B. Roberts, Ricardo Sesso, and Ana L. Sawaya.  Stunted children gain less lean body mass and more fat mass than their non-stunted counterparts: A prospective study. British Journal of Nutrition, 2004 Nov;92(5):819-25.

Daniel J. Hoffman.  Upper limits in developing countries: warning against too much in lands of too little.  J Am Coll Nutr.  2004 Dec: 23 (6 Suppl): 610-5S.

Daniel J. Hoffman and Soo-Kyung Lee . Prevalence of wasting, but not stunting, has decreased in in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. J Nutr. 135: 452-456, 2005.

Daniel J. Hoffman, Zimian Wang, Dympna Gallagher, and Steven B. Heymsfield.  Differences in the amount of visceral adipose tissue in African-American and Caucasian adults using magnetic resonance imaging. Obes Res. 2005 Jan;13(1):66-74.

Daniel J. Hoffman, Peggy Policastro, Virginia Quick, and Soo-Kyung Lee. Changes in Body Weight and Fat Mass of Men and Women in the First Year of College: A Study of the “Freshman Fifteen”. Accepted 21 July 2005: J Am Coll Health.

Kensara OA, Wootton SA, Phillips DI, Patel M, Hoffman DJ, Jackson AA, Elia MC. Substrate-energy metabolism and metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease in relation to fetal growth and adult body composition. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Mar 10.

Daniel J. Hoffman, Ana L. Sawaya, Paula A. Martins, Megan A. McCrory, and Susan B. Roberts. Comparison of Techniques to Evaluate Adiposity in Stunted and Nonstunted Children. Pediatrics. 2006, 117 (4)

Reviews, chapters and editorials

Daniel J. Hoffman and Ana L. Sawaya. Energy Balance, in:  Caballero & Sandler, eds.,  Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition, Academic Press, London, 1998, p. 650-658.

David B. Allison, Mooneseong Heo, Kevin R. Fontaine, and Daniel J. Hoffman.  Body Weight, Body Composition, and Longevity, in: Per Bjorntorp, ed., Textbook of Obesity, John Wiley and Sons, London, 2000.

Heymsfield, SB, Hoffman, DJ, Testolin, C, and Wang, ZM.  Evaluation of Human Adiposity, in: Per Bjorntorp, ed., Textbook of Obesity, John Wiley and Sons, London, 2000.

Hoffman, DJ, Heymsfield, SB, and Waitzberg, DL. Composicão corporea, in: Waitzberg, DL, ed. Nutricão Enterale Parenteral Na Pratica Clinica, 3rd edition, Atheneu, São Paulo, BRAZIL, 2000.

Daniel J. Hoffman and Dympna Gallagher, Obesity and Weight Control, in: Gonzalez, EG, ed., Downey and Darling’s Physiological Basis of Rehabilitation Medicine, 3rd edition, Butterworth and Heinemann, New York, 2000.

Faith MS, Tepper BJ, Hoffman DJ, Pietrobelli A. Genetic and environmental influences on childhood obesity. Clinics Family Practice, 2002.

Susan B. Roberts and Daniel J. Hoffman. Energy and Substrate Regulation in Obesity in: Nutrition in Pediatrics: Basic Science and Clinical Application, (3rd Edition). W.A. Walker, MD editor. BC Decker Inc, USA, 2003.

Daniel J. Hoffman, ZiMian Wang, David B. Allison, Michelle Huber, and Steven B. Heymsfield. Assessment of Body Composition in: Obesity: Mechanisms and Clinical Management. R. Eckel, MD editor. Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins, NY, NY USA, 2003.

Steven B. Heymsfield and Daniel J. Hoffman, Investigación de la composición corporal in: Fundamentos de Valoración Nutricional y Composición Corporal. Daniel H. de Girolami, MD editor. Editorial El Ateneo, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA, 2003.

Ana L. Sawaya PhD; Paula Martins MSc; Daniel Hoffman PhD; Susan B. Roberts PhD.  The Link Between Childhood Undernutrition and Risk of Chronic Diseases in Adulthood: A Case Study of Brazil. Nutrition Reviews,  2003. 61 (5):168 – 175.