About this item
Most of us know that sugar can wreak havoc on adult bodies, but few realize how uniquely harmful it is to the growing livers, hearts, and brains of children. And the damage can begin early in life. In his research on the effects of sugar on kids' present and future health, USC Professor of Pediatrics and Program Director for Diabetes and Obesity at Children's Hospital Los Angeles Michael Goran has found that too much sugar doesn't just cause childhood obesity, it can cause health issues in kids who are not overweight too, including fatty liver disease, prediabetes, and elevated risk for eventual heart disease. And, it is a likely culprit in the behavioral, emotional, and learning problems that many children struggle with every day. In a groundbreaking study, Goran's team conducted a detailed analysis of the sugary products that kids love and found that these yogurts, cereals, sodas, and juices often had more sugar than advertised and also contained different types of sugar than were being disclosed.
About the Author
Dr Michael Goran is a Professor of Pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, which is affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He is Program Director for Diabetes and Obesity at The Saban Research Institute and he holds the Dr Robert C and Veronica Atkins Endowed Chair in Childhood Obesity and Diabetes. Dr Goran is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, UK (1986) and has previously served on the faculty of Medicine at the University of Vermont (1991 to 1994) , the Department of Nutrition Sciences at UAB (1994 to 1999) , and the Department of Preventive Medicine at USC (1999 to 2018) prior to joining Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles.His research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health and other Foundations for the past 30 years and he has published over 350 professional peer-reviewed articles and reviews. He is the Editor of the "Childhood Obesity: Causes, Consequences and Intervention Approaches" published in 2017, co-editor of "Dietary Sugars and Health"published in late 2014, and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief for Pediatric Obesity. He has been the recipient of a number of scientific awards for his research and teaching, including: The Nutrition Society Medal for Research (1996) , The Lilly Award for Scientific Achievement from The Obesity Society (2006) , The Bar-Or Award for Excellence in Pediatric Obesity Research, from The Obesity Society (2009) , the TOPS award for contributions to obesity research from The Obesity Society (2014) , and the Rank Prize Lecture in Nutrition (2018) .Michael lives in Silverlake, Los Angeles with his wife Lori, a film editor, his 2 teenage daughters, and their cat, Hugo Moon. Outside of work, Michael likes to play tennis, and hang out with his family which typically involves cooking, eating, going on walks and travel.
