Rebecca Hasson facts for kids

Rebecca Hasson is a professor at the University of Michigan. She studies how and why children become overweight or obese. She also looks at how our surroundings affect health problems linked to obesity. Her work helps create better health rules and policies.

Early Life and Education

Rebecca Hasson loved sports and learning from a young age. She studied exercise science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This is the study of how the human body moves and reacts to physical activity. She earned her first degree in 2001 and a master's degree in 2005.

In 2009, she completed her PhD at the same university. Her main research looked at why some groups of people, like non-Hispanic Black individuals, have a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes. This risk is linked to how their bodies use a hormone called insulin. While studying, she was also a talented volleyball player and was chosen for the Atlantic 10 Conference team.

Research and Career

After her PhD, Dr. Hasson worked as a researcher at the University of Southern California. She focused on understanding why some groups of children face more health challenges, especially related to obesity. She then became a W. K. Kellogg Scholar at the University of California, San Francisco in 2010. Here, she continued to study health differences in communities.

Today, Dr. Hasson is a professor at the University of Michigan. She combines different fields of study in her work. These include:

• Social epidemiology: How health and illness are spread in different groups of people.
• Pediatric endocrinology: The study of hormones and glands in children.
• Exercise physiology: How exercise affects the body.

Dr. Hasson is very concerned about how a lifestyle with too little movement can lead to serious health issues. These include Type 2 diabetes and even some types of cancer.

Working for Healthier Lifestyles

In 2017, Dr. Hasson teamed up with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Their goal was to help more people in America become physically active. Together, they set four important goals:

• Raise awareness: Help everyone understand that not everyone has the same health chances.
• Educate healthcare providers: Teach doctors and nurses to understand different cultures.
• Work together: Bring healthcare, schools, and sports groups closer to improve health.
• Check progress: See if their efforts are making a real difference.

Dr. Hasson also found in 2018 that women tend to feel less stressed as they get older. She also helps guide new scientists as a mentor with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. She has also led the Society for the Analysis of African-American Public Health Issues as its president.