David Samuel Ludwig

David Samuel Ludwig is a Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is also an endocrinologist and researcher at Boston Children's Hospital, where he serves as co-director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center and has been described as an "obesity warrior" by Time magazine.

Dr. Ludwig received his PhD and MD from Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in pediatrics and fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at Boston Children's Hospital. His academic credentials include significant training in both clinical medicine and research methodology.

Dr. Ludwig is a leading researcher in obesity and metabolic health, challenging conventional wisdom about dieting and weight loss. His groundbreaking work proposes that "overeating doesn't make you fat; the process of getting fat makes you overeat," shifting focus from calorie counting to food quality and metabolic response. He is a prominent advocate for the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity, which suggests that high-carbohydrate diets trigger hormonal responses that promote fat storage and increase hunger. His research spans clinical trials, theoretical models, and practical dietary interventions focused on retraining the body's metabolic processes.

His publications reveal a consistent theme of rethinking traditional approaches to weight management, emphasizing biological factors over willpower. Rather than focusing on caloric restriction, his work explores how dietary composition affects metabolic health, hunger regulation, and fat storage mechanisms at the cellular level.

Dr. Ludwig's significant contributions to the field have been recognized with prestigious awards:

• E.V. McCollum Award
• Oded Bar-Or Award

As a prominent researcher and educator, Dr. Ludwig has influenced numerous students and colleagues in the field of nutrition science. He serves as a paid associate editor for the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and as a US editor for The BMJ. His work at the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center involves substantial grant-funded research on childhood obesity prevention and innovative treatment approaches that challenge conventional dietary guidelines.

Dr. Ludwig co-directs the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children's Hospital, a research facility dedicated to understanding and preventing childhood obesity through approaches that address metabolic health rather than simply focusing on calorie restriction. His work has been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, NPR, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN.