Childhood Obesity Panelist John Cawley
Prof. John Cawley is an associate professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University. His primary field of research is health economics, particularly the economics of obesity. In addition to his affiliation with Cornell, Cawley is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research in the Programs on Health Economics and Health Care. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee "Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth." He has served on advisory boards and expert panels relating to obesity for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Cawley studies the effect of body weight on labor market outcomes such as wage rates, unemployment, employment disability, and the transition from welfare to work. He also studies the role of body weight in adolescent behavior, such as smoking and sexual activity. His other research concerns treatments for obesity, such as anti-obesity drugs and bariatric surgery, and the effectiveness of methods of preventing obesity such as physical education in schools. Recently-initiated research concerns the impact of food advertising on the consumption of specific branded food items by children and youth, evaluations of school-based interventions to prevent youth obesity, and the impact of financial rewards for weight loss.