About the Authors

Susan B. Roberts, PhD, professor of nutrition and professor of psychiatry at Tufts University, is an internationally recognized expert on nutrition and weight control. She is the author of Feeding your Child for Lifelong Health, as well as over 250 research studies on nutrition and weight management published in research journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and The Lancet.

Dr. Roberts is the recipient of many scientific accolades, including the prestigious W.O Atwater Lectureship, which recognizes the recipient as providing outstanding contributions to the field of nutrition.

Dr. Roberts is one of America’s leading authorities on diet, and her program has been praised by top nutrition professionals as a breakthrough in effective and sustainable weight loss.

Dr Roberts lives with her family in Weston, Massachusetts.

Betty Kelly Sargent is the coauthor of Beautiful Bones Without Hormones (with Leon Root, M.D.), What Every Daughter Wants her Mother To Know and What Every Daughter Wants Her Father To Know.

Major findings in Dr. Roberts lab research studies include:

• A recent study incorporating fMRI images of iDiet participants brains showing their responses to foods had been retrained to prefer healthier foods over sugary and fat-laden options (Nutrition & Diabetes (2014) 4, e129; doi:10.1038/nutd.2014.26)
• A recent study showing the iDiet program produces lower attrition, higher satisfaction and greater weight loss than other group weight loss programs, with clinically relevant beneficial effect on cardiometabolic risk factors (Am J Clin Nutr April 2013 vol. 97 no. 4 663-664)
• The first research providing solid evidence that dietary fiber is a major aid in weight control (Howarth et al. 2001; Gilhooly et al. 2008)
• The first research showing excess dietary variety linked to increased body fatness (McCrory et al 1999).
• The first compilation of research studies to demonstrate that exercise has only a small effect on weight loss, distinct from benefits for preventing weight regain (Elder et al. 2007).
• The first laboratory identifying core characteristics of craved foods and developing a plan for treatment based on associative conditioning (Gilhooly et al. 2007).
• The first research showing that restaurant calorie listings are inaccurate and that for foods lower in calories the listings understate food portions given to consumers (Urban et al 2009 and 2010).
• The first study identifying ‘disinhibition’ as a significant behavioral challenge in weight control (Hays et al 2002).