AMES, Iowa -- A leading kinesiologist and epidemiologist who helped develop the nation's physical activity guidelines will speak at Iowa State University this week.
Harold (Bill) Kohl will present "The Global Pandemic of Physical Inactivity: An Urgent Priority for Public Health" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Kohl is the Department of Kinesiology's 2013-14 Pease Family Scholar. His talk is free and open to the public.
Kohl is a professor of epidemiology and kinesiology at the University of Texas School of Public Health. Since 1984, he has worked in the area of physical activity and health, including conducting research, developing and evaluating intervention programs for adults and children, and developing and advising on policy issues.
Kohl served as lead epidemiologist and team leader in the Physical Activity and Health Branch of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. In 2006, he was tapped to help create the first U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines, which were published in 2008. He is the founding president of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health and co-editor of the "Journal of Physical Activity and Health." Kohl chairs the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Science Board.
Kohl earned his bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry at the University of San Diego, master of public health degree in epidemiology and biostatistics from the University of South Carolina, and doctoral degree in community health studies from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston.
The Pease Family Scholar program was created in memory of Harvey and Bomell Pease. The endowment was established in 1991 by their son, Dean Pease, and his wife, Sally, to bring visiting scholars to the Iowa State campus. Dean Pease, who died in 1994, chaired the Department of Health and Human Performance from 1987 to 1990.
Kohl's lecture is co-sponsored by the Department of Kinesiology, the Pease Family Scholar-in-Residence and Scholarship, and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body. More information about ISU lectures is available online at http://www.lectures.iastate.edu, or by calling 515-294-9935.
