About Us

Our research programs

Decades of randomized controlled trials have demonstrated FBT’s effectiveness at helping parents and their children establish and maintain positive changes to their eating and physical activity behaviors.

RYSE (CDC CORD)

TEAM UP (PCORI)

PLAN with Families

COMPASS

FBT in the news

How will the obesity epidemic end? With kids. – USA Today

Obesity rates among children soared during pandemic. A local study aims to help. – St. Louis Post Dispatch

Our leadership

Denise Wilfley, PhD

Dr. Wilfley is the Scott Rudolph University Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, Pediatrics, and Psychological & Brain Sciences and Director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Wellness at Washington University School of Medicine. She is an internationally recognized expert on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of eating and weight-related disorders in children, adolescents, and adults.

Rob Welch, PhD

Dr. Welch is a licensed psychologist in the state of Missouri and a Certified Group Psychotherapist. He has provided extensive training and guidance on the delivery of the FBT program.

Leonard Epstein, PhD

Dr. Epstein is Chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine and SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Social and Preventive Medicine, and Community Health Behaviors. Dr. Epstein is the co-developer of FBT and has extensive experience in the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective behavioral treatments for pediatric obesity.

What people are saying

So much of the content seems basic, yet [it’s] not really taught in school! Like how to meal plan. That is such a basic skill and necessity, yet I was never taught that through standard education (only once I got into dietetics education).

Overall, the training is incredibly impressive. It is clear that a very significant amount of effort has gone into these 30 years of research.

I felt that the emphasis on bettering healthy lifestyle choices in a very holistic manner (inclusive of sleep, relationships, etc.) adds to the effectiveness of the intervention and respects the dignity…of each participant as a human being.

As a practicing family medicine physician who interacts with patients of many different backgrounds, I have witnessed firsthand the struggles my families face when they try to make healthy changes but are overwhelmed by the barriers that face them. [FBT] presents an amazing, evidence-based opportunity to be trained in how best to guide weight management for the entire family.

Working through [FBT] really did help my family look at nutrition and health differently. Foods were not bad or good. [It was] our choices that had consequences for our overall health. We understood portion sizes and the importance of reading food labels. We learned how important it is to be active and so many great concepts that we still use.