David L. Katz (born February 20, 1963) is an American physician, nutritionist and writer.[1] He was the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center that was founded at Griffin Hospital in 1998.[2] Katz is the founder of True Health Initiative and is an advocate of plant-predominant diets.[3][4][5]
David L. Katz | |
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Born | Los Angeles, California | February 20, 1963
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Dartmouth College (BA, 1984) Albert Einstein College of Medicine (MD, 1988) Yale School of Public Health (MPH, 1993) |
Spouse | Catherine (Sananès) Katz |
Children | 5 |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Preventive medicine |
Thesis | Implications of compliance with the national guideline for dietary fat in the RENO diet-heart study (1993) |
Website | www |
Katz received a BA degree from Dartmouth College, an MD degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and an MPH degree from Yale School of Public Health.[3] He is board certified in preventive medicine.[6]
Previously, Katz was a clinical instructor in medicine at the Yale School of Medicine.[7] Katz formerly served as associate director for nutrition science at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, following his appointment in 2005.[citation needed] Although Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center is part of the Yale School of Public Health,[8] Katz has not had an academic appointment with Yale since 2016 and is no longer academically affiliated with the university.[9] Katz has authored over 400 scientific papers and written newspaper and magazine articles, including The New York Times and The Oprah Magazine.[1] In 2000, Katz founded the Integrative Medicine Center at Griffin,[citation needed] which ceased operating in November 2014.[10] Katz is a contributor and advisory board member for Naked Food Magazine.[11] He was President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine 2014–2016.[1]
In 2015, Katz wrote two positive reviews in his Huffington Post blog for a science fiction book that he had published under a pseudonym, without disclosing that he was the author of the book; Huffington Post retracted the posts.[12] In March 2020, Katz was invited by John Ioannidis to join in a proposed meeting intended to convince President Donald Trump not to employ lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the meeting ultimately did not take place.[13] Katz is a co-signatory of the Great Barrington Declaration.[14]
Katz is the founder and president of True Health Initiative.[3]
Katz is an advocate of diets that are "plant-predominant" such as vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian and the Mediterranean diet.[4][5][15] He has stated that the "best diets for human health are plant-predominant, whole food plant, predominant, so all of us should be eating plenty of plant foods".[4] Katz has noted that it is long established that improving diet quality can reduce the risk of chronic disease and premature death.[16]
Katz is not a vegan in his personal life but says he eats plant-based most of the time and gave up eating red meat for ethical and environmental reasons.[4] He has commented that "a good vegan diet is not the only option for health promotion, but it is among the best".[17] He has lectured on plant-based nutrition at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and for Plant-Based Health Professionals UK.[18][19]
His book How to Eat: All Your Food and Diet Questions Answered, co-authored with food journalist Mark Bittman, was published in 2020.[20] It promotes a plant-predominant diet.[20]
Katz wrote a foreword to Sharon Palmer's book The Plant-Powered Diet.[21]
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