Kerri Boutelle

Kerri Boutelle is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego. Her research focuses on behavioral interventions for obesity and eating disorders, particularly in pediatric populations. She leads randomized controlled trials evaluating treatments such as family-based behavioral programs, guided self-help, and executive function training. Her work addresses mechanisms like food cue reactivity, emotional eating, and parental involvement. Key contributions include studies on childhood obesity prevention, binge eating disorder treatments, and adaptations for special populations such as veterans and children with intellectual disabilities.

She collaborates with multidisciplinary teams including psychologists, dietitians, and surgeons. Her clinical trials include the FRESH, FRESH-teen, and CHARGE studies. She has published extensively on appetite regulation, neurocognitive aspects of eating behaviors, and the impact of environmental factors like default menus on food choices.

Publications span topics from parental control in eating behaviors to the role of hippocampal volume in obesity. Her research emphasizes translational approaches to improve weight management strategies and reduce disparities in obesity outcomes.