U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2018





- ARS@Work
- Blog
- Down on the Farm
- Image Gallery
- News Archive
- Podcasts
- Press Room
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Tellus
- Under the Microscope
- YouTube Channel

Steven B. Heymsfield Presents 2018 ARS W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecture By Kim Kaplan June 11, 2018 **Boston, June 11, 2018—**"From Measuring Rods and Calipers to Big Data: The Study of Human Body Composition Grows Up" was the title of Stephen B. Heymsfield's 2018 Agricultural Research Service (ARS) W. O. Atwater Memorial Lecture, delivered at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting on Sunday, June 10, in Boston. “Technological advances have afforded clinical nutrition investigators the opportunity to quantify body compartments with greater accuracy and depth than afforded by early pioneering efforts,” Heymsfield wrote in his abstract. “Paralleling other scientific fields, body composition measurement technologies are now generating vast amounts of digitally measured data and are promising to provide greatly improved knowledge of the human shape.” Heymsfield is internationally renowned for his work on obesity, body composition and energy physiology. He pioneered the use of computed tomography ("CAT scans"), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to study skeletal muscle, fat and visceral organs. Now, Heymsfield and his colleagues are advancing the use of 3D optical imaging, which uses the visible light spectrum—plus inferred and ultraviolet—in place of X-rays to assess body shape and composition, research that could transform the nutritional and health assessment of children and adults. In addition, Heymsfield’s research and outspoken leadership on the health risks of an herbal weight-loss supplement were instrumental in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banning its active ingredient ephedra in 2004. He was honored for his role with the 2004 NYC Mayor's Award for Science and Technology. Among his other notable achievements are findings that helped overturn the convention that a 3,500-calorie deficit in the diet will lead to a one-pound weight loss and introducing the “four-compartment model” that is now the cornerstone reference method to measure body fat in people. Heymsfield currently is Director of the Body Composition-Metabolism Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Centerof the Louisiana State University System in Baton Rouge. He also is president-elect of The Obesity Society and a past-president of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and the American Society for Clinical Nutrition. The W.O. Atwater Lectureship was established in 1968 to honor the memory of Wilbur Olin Atwater (1844-1907) and to recognize scientists who have made unique contributions toward improving the diet and nutrition of people around the world. Considered the father of modern nutrition research and education, Atwater was the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) first chief of nutrition investigations. For more information contact Kim Kaplan, ARS Office of Communications, or visit the W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecture web page. *The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.*


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov