Prof.dr. Jaap C. Seidell

Present positions

• (from 2002): professor of nutrition and health at the Vrije Universiteit (School for Life Sciences) and the VU University Medical Center.
• (from 2003): director of the Department for Health Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
• (from 2004): Scientific director Research Centre for Prevention of Overweight Zwolle (OPOZ).

Academic education

• 1983 MSc in Human Nutrition (cum laude) at the Agricultural University in Wageningen, The Netherlands
• 1986 PhD in Human Nutrition (thesis: Overweight and fat distribution in relation to morbidity) at the Agricultural University in Wageningen, The Netherlands.

  
Short resume

I am responsible for research and academic training in health sciences at the VU University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

My research topics include:
- nutrition and health,
- lifestyle and chronic diseases,
- causes and consequences of overweight and obesity,
- prevention and management of overweight and obesity,

Disciplines of research include genetics, endocrinology, physiology, epidemiology, psychology, behavioral sciences, health economics, public health.

According to the Essential Science Indicators I am, based on publications of the last decade, identified as top scientist (top 1%; world ranking) in the following three fields: clinical medicine, biology and biochemistry, and social sciences, general.

For a list of scientific publications see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez or http://apps.isiknowledge.com (search term for both: seidell-j*).
Citation statistics: Web of Science, june 2010:
Results found: 292
Sum of the Times Cited: 12,973
Average Citations per Item: 44.43
h-index: 63


Specialties: (always unpaid) consultancies to government, research funding organizations, food industry, pharmaceutical companies, health care organizations, NGO's, consumer organizations and media.
 

Selection of other positions:

• Member of the Netherlands Health Council (Gezondheidsraad)
• Partnerschap Overgewicht Nederland (chairman);
• Consortium Integrale Aanpak Overgewicht (CIAO) (bestuurslid);
• Stichting Go4Kids (Gezonde Omgeving voor Kinderen) (bestuurslid);
• International Obesity Task Force (co-founder and steering group)
• European EPODE Network (steering group)

Professional employment history

• 1987-1988 post-doc at Sahlgrens Hospital, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
• 1988-1992 senior research fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW).
• 1991 consultant National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MS, USA.
• 1993-2002 Head of the Department for Chronic Diseases ERpidemiology at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, The Netherlands
• 1998 sabbatical at the Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada
• 1999-2002 adjunct professor of nutrition at the VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam.

Five selected recent reviews/books

• Doak CM, Visscher TLS, Renders CM, Seidell JC. The prevention of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents: a review of interventions and programmes. Obesity Reviews 2006;7: 111-36.
• Schokker DF, Visscher TL, Nooyens AC, van Baak MA, Seidell JC. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the Netherlands. Obes Rev 2007; 8: 101-7.
• van Dam RM, Seidell JC. Carbohydrate intake and obesity. Eur J Clin Nutr 2007; 61(suppl. 1) : S75-S99.
• Seidell JC. Waist circumference and waist/hip ratio in relation to all-cause mortality, cancer and sleep apnea. Eur J Clin Nutr 2010; 64: 35-41.
• Waters E, Swinburn B, Seidell JC Uauy R (eds). Preventing childhood obesity: evidence, policy and practice. Wiley-Blackwell/ BMJ/Books, 2010.
  

5 recent original papers

• Nooyens ACJ, Koppes LLJ, Visscher TLS, Twisk JWR, Kemper HCG, Schuit AJ, van Mechelen W, Seidell JC. Adolescent skinfold thickness is a better predictor of high body fatness in adults than is body mass index: the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:1533-9.
• Snijder MB, Lips, P, Seidell JC, Visser M. Deeg D, Dekker JM, van Dam RM. Vitamin D status and parathyroid hormone levels in relation to blood pressure. A population-based study in older men and women. J Intern Med 2007; 261:558-565.
• Nicolaou M, Doak C, van Dam R, Hosper K, Seidell J, Stronks  K. Body shape and body weight perception among two non-western migrant origin groups. Publ Health Nutr 2008;11:1332-41.
• Scholtens S, Wijga AH, Seidell JC, Brunekreef B, de Jongste JC, Gehring U, Postma DS, Kerkhof M, Smit HA. Overweight and changes in weight status during childhood in relation to asthma at 8 years of age. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2009;123:1312-8.
• Nijland ML, Stam F, Seidell JC. Overweight in dogs, but not in cats, is related to overweight of their owners. Publ Health Nutr 2010;13:102-6.
  
  
  
  Last update June 28, 2010