Kerri Boutelle, PhD

Kerri Boutelle is a clinician and researcher in the field of childhood obesity and eating Kerri Boutelle, PhDdisorders.  She is a Professor of Pediatrics of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).  Dr. Boutelle is the Director of the Center for Healthy Eating and Activity Research at UCSD and is the senior supervising psychologist at the UCSD Eating Disorders Program.  Dr. Boutelle is a certified Family-Based therapist, supervisor and trainer for families with a child with an eating disorder.  Dr. Boutelle sees children and adolescents (and their parents) who are have eating issues, including overweight, picky eating, binge eating, bulimia and anorexia. She oversees a number of programs that provide individual and group-based treatment for youth and their parents.

Dr. Boutelle’s current research is focused 1) creating translatable treatments for childhood obesity and eating disorders and 2) developing novel treatments for overeating and obesity based on basic behavioral science and neuroscience. As a member of the HWRN, Boutelle is expanding her successful weight loss programs to address the specific concerns and needs of people with ASD and IDD.

Dr. Boutelle was awarded funds from the Healthy Weight Research Network in 2014 to support a pilot project. Dr. Boutelle is conducting a parent-only family-based treatment (FBT) for weight loss specifically tailored to the unique needs and concerns parents of children with ASD. She will be evaluating feasibility, acceptability and initial efficacy of a weight-loss treatment that combines parenting skills and weight-loss strategies tailored specifically for parents of overweight and obese children between the ages of 5-13 years old with a diagnosis of ASD.

 

Research Interests

  • Parenting skills to assist children in weight loss
  • Parent and child skills for reducing binge eating
  • Translating current treatments for childhood obesity to less intensive models
  • Effectiveness of parent-only groups to reduce childhood obesity
  • Treatments for children and adults who overeat or binge eat that target improvement to appetitive cues and decreases in responsiveness to external food cues.
  • Treatments for youth and adults who overeat or binge eat that target changing the rewarding aspects of food and improving the abilities to stop eating

 

Relevant Publications

Boutelle K.N., Peterson CB, Crosby RD, Rydell SA, Zucker N, Harnack L. (2014) Overeating phenotypes in overweight and obese children.  Appetite May76: 96-100.

Meyer, M.D., Risbrough, V.B., Liang, J., Boutelle, K.N. (2014). Pavlovian conditioning of hedonic food cues in overweight and lean individuals. Appetite. 16; 87C:56-61, doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.002. PMID: 25526826

Boutelle, K.N., Liang, J., Knatz, S., Matheson, B., Risborough, V. Strong, D., Rhee, K.E., Craske, M.G., Zucker, N., Bouton, M.E. (2014). Design and implementation of a study evaluating extinction processes to food cues in obese children: The Intervention for Regulations of Cues Trial (iROC). Journal of Contemporary and Clinical Trial, 40C: 95-104. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2014.11.011.  PubMed PMID 25461494. NIHMS 649367.

Boutelle, K.N., Kuckertz, J.M., Carlson, J., Amir, N. (2014). A pilot study evaluating a one-session attention modification training to decrease overeating in obese children.  Appetite. 76:180-185. doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.01.075. PMID: 24512975PMCID PMC3989523.

Boutelle, K.N., Wierenga, C.E., Bischoff-Grethe, A., Melrose, A.J., Grenesko-Stevens, E., Paulus, M.P., Kaye, W.H. (2014).Increased brain response to appetitive tastes in the insula and amygdala in obese compared to healthy weight children when sated. International Journal of Obesity. doi:10.1038/ijo.2014.206. PMID: 25582522

Boutelle, K.N., Norman, G.J, Rock,.C.L,, Rhee, K.E., Crow, S.J.  (2013). Guided self-help for the treatment of pediatric obesity. Pediatrics, 131 (5), e1435 -e1442. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-2204. PMID: 23545372

Boutelle, K.N., Cafri, G., Crow, S.J.(2012) Parent Predictors of Child Weight Change in Family Based Behavioral Obesity Treatment. Obesity, 20(7), 1539-43. doi: 10.1038/oby.2012.48. PubMed PMID:2242189650. Boutelle, K.N., Zucker, N., Peterson, C.B., Rydell, S., Cafri, G., Harnack, L.  (2011) Two Novel Treatments for Overeating in Overweight Children:  A Randomized Controlled Trial, 79(6):759-71. Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, 79(6), 759-771. PMID:22122291, PMCID: PMC3989524

Boutelle, K.N., Cafri, G., Crow, S.J.  (2011). A parent-only treatment for childhood obesity: a randomized controlled trial. Obesity, 19(3), 574–580.  doi: 10.1038/oby.2010.238. PMID:20966907 PMCID: PMC4008332.NIHMS:293965

For a complete list of network members go to the HWRN network member page.