Dong-Chul Seo named fellow, president-elect of the American Academy of Health Behavior

Dong-Chul Seo, associate professor in the Department of Applied Health Science at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, has been named a fellow as well as president-elect for 2013-14 of the American Academy of Health Behavior.

"Dr. Seo is an incredible asset to the school and to Indiana University," said Mohammad Torabi, dean and chancellor's professor at the School of Public Health-Bloomington. "It is only fitting that he be selected as a fellow as well as president-elect of such a prestigious organization."

Dr. Dong-Chul Seo

Seo worked as an evaluation expert for the Korean government for 12 years before joining the IU faculty in 2004. He has 24 years of research experience in policy and socio-ecological approaches for obesity and addictive behavior. His research has been supported by 12 different grants funded by federal, state and local agencies since 2004, and he was principle investigator or co-principle investigator on 11 of the 12 grants. He has published more than 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals in the past nine years. Seo has served as a grant reviewer for a number of agencies, including the National Science Foundation, as an editor for the World Journal of Methodology and as a peer reviewer for 13 journals.

"It is a great honor to be named both a fellow of the academy and to be named president-elect of the group I hold in such high esteem," Seo said. "I could not be more honored."

Seo served as American Academy of Health Behavior Research Review Committee chair in 2008-09. He joined the AAHB Board in 2010 as a delegate and is currently serving as treasurer.

After his term as president-elect, he will serve as president for 2014-15.

"Professor Seo's excellence in research in health behavior and high-quality publications in dozens of premier journals make him uniquely suited for leadership in the AAHB," said David Lohrmann, chair of the Department of Applied Health Science at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington.

The American Academy of Health Behavior's mission is to serve as the research home for health behavior scholars and researchers whose primary commitment is to excellence in research and the application of research to improve public health. Fellow status is conferred as an indication of distinction and is based solely on merit.

Aquatics expert William Ramos named to American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council

Dr. William Ramos

William Ramos, assistant professor in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, has been appointed to the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council.

"Selection for membership to serve on the council is certainly an honor for me," said Ramos, director of the IU Aquatic Institute. "I am very much looking forward to contributions that can be made as a representative of Indiana University and the School of Public Health-Bloomington to an organization that I hold in highest esteem. I feel confident that my multidisciplinary background in the area of aquatics will serve well in assisting to advance the mission of the American Red Cross through evaluating methods, techniques and current research."

Sport and food connection too strong -- and obvious -- to ignore

Spectator sports and food -- often high-calorie or low-nutrition -- have long gone hand-in-hand, yet FDA regulations geared toward calorie transparency at restaurant chains ignore this relationship. Popular fast-food restaurants soon will be required to post calorie counts, but concession stands at major sports facilities and many sports bars will not.

"The proposed menu labeling regulations, as part of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, overlook sport and sport spectatorship. Stadiums and arenas aren't included," said Antonio Williams, sport and fitness marketing expert at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington. "Neither are sports bars or restaurants that are not part of a chain. It's a big mistake. It's no secret that a tremendous amount of food is consumed during sporting events and that fans often are exposed to numerous food-related ads and sponsorship. It's a symbiotic relationship."

During the Super Bowl, for example, typically one third of advertisements involve food. Williams said game day also represents the second heaviest day of the year for food consumption, according to the USDA.

Dr. Antonio Williams

The regulations may overlook the relationship between food and sport, but corporate America hasn't, Williams said, pointing to major sports venues and football bowl games named for food-related corporations.

"Some research shows that companies who sell unhealthy products have marketed them effectively by tying them to images or activities that are widely viewed as pure or healthy, like sport," he said.

Williams and co-author Crystal Williams note in an upcoming article in the Loyola Consumer Law Review that the National Restaurant Association has submitted letters to the FDA arguing that applying the new regulation to concession stands in sports arenas and stadiums would fall within the intent of Congress when it adopted the Affordable Care Act.

Their article, "Hitting calories out of the ballpark: An examination of the FDA's new menu labeling laws and their impact on sport spectatorship," will appear in the March issue of the journal.

Antonio Williams, assistant professor in the school's Department of Kinesiology, can be reached at 812-855-3061 or aw22@indiana.edu. Crystal Williams is an attorney at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Indianapolis.