Jian Zhang
Associate Professor, Biostatistics | Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA, UNITED STATES
Jian Zhang's research focuses on chronic disease from both public health and preventative medicine perspectives.
Spotlight
Biography
Jian Zhang had worked with the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization prior to moving to US for an advanced degree. He obtained a Doctorate in Public Health from the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, USA. Before he joined the faculty of Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health in 2008, he had worked with the University of South Carolina, Institute of Family in Society, and the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Public Health Surveillance
Vaccine-preventative Diseases
Epidemiology
Chronic Diseases
Global Health
Mental Health
Accomplishments (2)
Recipient, Faculty Awards of Research Excellence, Georgia Southern University
2015
Correspondent author of the top 10 most talked-about article published in JAMA (professional)
2017
Education (3)
University of South Carolina: DrPH., Epidemiology 2002
Fudan University: M.Sc., Health Service Research 1992
Shanxi Medical University: M.D., Preventative Medicine 1984
Links (5)
Media Appearances (3)
Scientists Retract Study that Found Americans Had Given Up on Losing Weight
Gizmodo
2018-12-18
Senior author Jian Zhang, an epidemiologist at Georgia Southern University, told me at the time that one reason could be that people were trying less to lose weight because of their surrounding social environment. If the average weight of the population is higher, they theorized, a person who’s overweight might be less inclined to perceive their weight as being out of the ordinary and subsequently not feel motivated to lose weight...
More U.S. adults may be trying to lose weight, after all
Reuters
2018-12-18
Furthermore, “It looks like the proportion of adults trying to lose weight increased slightly,” said senior study author Jian Zhang, a public health researcher at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, in an email to Reuters Health...
Study: More and more parents can’t see that their children are overweight
Fox News 31 online
2014-08-26
STATESBORO, Ga. — Parents are increasingly unable to tell when their children have a weight problem, according to a new study. The study, published Aug. 25 in the journal Pediatrics, found that parents interviewed between 2005 and 2010 were 24 percent less likely to spot a weight problem in their child than parents interviewed between 1988 and 1994. “The society as a whole is stuck with a vicious cycle,” senior study author Dr. Jian Zhang, an associate professor of epidemiology at Georgia Southern University, told Healthday. “Parents incorrectly believe their kids are healthy, they are less likely to take action, and so it increases the likelihood that their kids will become even less healthy.” Obesity has more than doubled among children aged 6 to 11, rising from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 18 percent in 2012, researchers said. More than three-quarters of parents interviewed in the 2005-2010 survey perceived their overweight children as “about the right weight” — 83 percent for boys and 78 percent for girls, researchers reported.
Articles (4)
Overweight is associated with decreased cognitive functioning among school‐age children and adolescents
ObesityY Li, Q Dai, JC Jackson, J Zhang
2008 Objective: Childhood overweight and obesity have increased substantially in the past two decades, raising concerns about their psychosocial and cognitive consequences. We examined the associations between academic performance (AP), cognitive functioning (CF), and increased BMI in a nationally representative sample of children.
Relationships between body size satisfaction and weight control practices among US adults
The Medscape Journal of MedicineRA Millstein, SA Carlson, JE Fulton, DA Galuska, J Zhang, HM Blanck, BE Ainsworth
2008 Objectives: Describe correlates of body size satisfaction and examine whether satisfaction was associated with trying to lose weight or specific weight control practices among US adults using a national sample of women and men.
Associations between body mass index and the prevalence of low micronutrient levels among US adults
Medscape General MedicineJE Kimmons, HM Blanck, BC Tohill, J Zhang, LK Khan
2006 Background: Low micronutrient levels observed with increasing adiposity may result from inadequate nutrient intake and/or alterations in nutrient metabolism.
Change in percentages of adults with overweight or obesity trying to lose weight, 1988-2014
JAMA. 2017;317(9):971-973. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.20036Kassandra R. Snook, MPH; Andrew R. Hansen, DrPH; Carmen H. Duke, MPH; et al
2017-03-07
Socially acceptable body weight is increasing.1 If more individuals who are overweight or obese are satisfied with their weight, fewer might be motivated to lose unhealthy weight. This study assessed the trend in the percentage of adults who were overweight or obese and trying to lose weight during 3 periods from 1988 through 2014. Methods We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), an ongoing, stratified, multistage probability sample of the US noninstitutionalized population designed to represent the health and nutritional status of the general population. A strength of NHANES is that the sampling approaches, interviews, and physical examination methods are standardized across surveys and have been published extensively elsewhere.2 NHANES protocol was approved by the National Center for Health Statistics institutional review board, and written informed consent was obtained.2 The current analysis was categorized as exempt by the Georgia Southern University institutional review board.
