Division of Diabetes Translation/CDC
Epidemiology and Statistics Branch
4770 Buford Highway NE (mailstop K-10)
Atlanta,
GA
USA
30341-3717
Email:
cjc1@cdc.gov
Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Carl J. Caspersen has interdisciplinary degrees in psychology/mathematics, exercise physiology, and epidemiology and post-doctoral training in preventive cardiology. For 9 years he served as the Associate Director for Science in the Division of Diabetes Translation and is a member of the Senior Biomedical Research Service. Dr. Caspersen is an internationally-recognized physical activity epidemiologist who defined physical activity epidemiology as a scientific sub-specialty with applications to youth- and older adult populations. He presently conducts research on the role of physical activity among older adults with diabetes. Dr. Caspersen has developed physical activity data collection and analytic methodologies for the National Health Interview Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, becoming a world authority on physical activity surveillance. He co-edited the Collection of Physical Activity Questionnaires. By devising a systematic review, he established physical inactivity as a coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factor, and the potential cost-effectiveness of physician counseling for inactivity in CHD prevention. Dr. Caspersen developed and evaluated community-based physical activity interventions in the Minnesota Heart Health Program, and has advanced the epidemiologic study of modifiable behavioral determinants of physical activity. He has helped to develop policies for the: Year 2000 Objectives, U.S. Preventive (and also Community) Services Task Forces, American Heart Association, International Society and Federation of Cardiology, and World Health Organization. Also, he helped to develop an electronic system to review the scientific literature on physical activity for DHHS Secretary Leavitt's initiative to develop the recently released U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines.
In 2003, the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) notified Dr. Caspersen that he is one of the most highly cited persons within in a 20-year reviewing time frame, having more than 3400 total citations of his published work. In 2008, this total now exceeds 4470 citations. ISI estimates exclude citations for major documents such as the "Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health" of which he was a coauthor and an editorial board member (which has well over 172,000 internet postings), and "A collection of physical activity questionnaires for health-related research (having more than 700 internet postings).
Gregg EW, Caspersen CJ. Physical disability and the cumulative impact of diabetes in older adults. British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease 5(1):13-17, 2005.
Caspersen CJ, Fulton JE. Epidemiology of walking and type 2 diabetes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 40(7S):519-528, 2008.