EAST LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan State University professor of kinesiology and national expert on pregnancy and physical activity has been tabbed to help shape federal policy and drive program development on fitness, sports and nutrition.
Jim Pivarnik has been appointed to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition's science board, formed in 2003 to ensure the messages and programs of the council are scientifically sound. He and colleagues will advise the council on the latest research that affects the health of children and adults nationwide.
Pivarnik, also an epidemiology professor at MSU, was selected due to the significant contributions he has made to the research and science of physical activity, fitness and health, said Shellie Pfohl, executive director of the President's Council. His appointment is for three years.
"I am honored to work with the President's Council, providing research-based expertise on the best ways to improve the health of all Americans," Pivarnik said. "Much can be done to help Americans overcome the chronic diseases brought on by lack of exercise and poor nutrition, and my colleagues and I look forward to the challenge."
The science board is made up of 16 researchers, scientists and physicians from across the country. The President's Council, co-chaired by NFL quarterback Drew Brees and Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes, works with President Obama and his team to develop accessible and affordable physical activity programs.
Pivarnik, who directs MSU's Center for Physical Activity and Health, is a nationally recognized expert on exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period. In 2008, he helped the federal government adopt the first-ever physical activity guidelines, finding that moderate physical activity during pregnancy does not contribute to low birth weight, premature birth or miscarriage and may actually reduce the risk of complications.
Pivarnik also is immediate past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and is chairperson of the organization's "Exercise is Medicine" on-campus initiative, which strives to make physical activity a major theme of every college campus.
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