Faculty Bio
David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD, a pediatric endocrinologist, is Director of the Obesity Program and Associate Director of the General Clinical Research Center at Children's Hospital, Boston. He holds the position of Associate Professor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Ludwig received his bachelor's degree at University of California, Berkeley, and his medical and doctorate degrees at Stanford University. He completed internship and residency at Children's Hospital, Boston, continuing on to become a Fellow and than an Attending in the Division of Endocrinology.
Dr. Ludwig's research focuses on the effects of dietary composition on hormones, metabolism and body weight regulation. In particular, he has been developing a novel "low glycemic" diet (i.e., one that decreases the surge in blood sugar after meals) for the treatment of obesity and prevention of type 2 diabetes. Other research interests include the physiological mechanisms relating fast food and soft drink consumption to obesity in children. Described as an "obesity warrior" by Time Magazine (June 7, 2004), Dr. Ludwig has fought for fundamental policy changes to restrict food advertising directed at young children, improve quality of school nutrition programs and increase insurance reimbursement for obesity prevention and treatment programs.
Dr Ludwig is Founding Director of the Obesity Program and the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) clinic at Children's Hospital, a multidisciplinary center for the diagnosis and management of overweight children. He currently supervises a number of research fellows and junior faculty.
Dr. Ludwig is a fellow of the Society for Pediatric Research and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity. He is the recipient of grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and from major philanthropic organizations. He has spoken at numerous scientific meetings, and provided expert testimony to the Dietary Guidelines Committee of the USDA and the National Academy of Sciences. He has published over 65 articles in medical or scientific journals including JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet. He appears frequently in the national media, including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Dateline NBC, Good Morning America and The Today Show.