By Annie Riley
Assistant News Editor
Gregory Privitera, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at St. Bonaventure University, spoke at 7 p.m. Tuesday, in the auditorium of the William F. Walsh Science Center on global obesity and the influence of food environment on consumption.
Privitera’s research on behavioral health is included in journals, such as Food & Nutrition Research, Appetite, and The Global Journal of Health Science. His new book, “Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences,” will be published in July, according to a March 20 university press release.
“The focus of the talk was to identify how we can be individually responsible for our part in the fight on global obesity,” Privitera said. “I wanted to speak on this topic because it is the focus of my research with students here at St. Bonaventure University.”
Privitera said obesity is an important and growing health concern, particularly in the U.S., and seemed an appropriate topic for the general public as well as for graduating seniors at St. Bonaventure.
“I am hoping people take away that they can take individual responsibility for slowing rates of obesity by being more away of what factors lead to obesity and by increasing intake of healthier foods,” he said.
Privitera said he focuses on three ways to increase intake of healthier foods by communicating health to children, make healthier food options more readily available and to create interest in healthier foods by eating at least one healthy portion with each meal.
“Understanding why we eat what we eat and using this information to learn to like eating a healthier diet is a valuable endeavor in my view and one that I quite enjoy pursing in research with my students,” he said. “My research is focused on the topic because I feel that it is an important health concern to resolve, given how quickly the problem is growing, particularly in the U.S.”
Privitera said nutrition, food, and health are important in his own life.
“To me, healthy eating must not be miserable eating, it must capture the mere sense of living.”
