Children's Health

Pediatric Obesity Researcher Joins Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital

Joe Eisenmann, PhD, has joined the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Healthy Weight Center as a pediatric obesity researcher. He will collaborate with and mentor physicians and medical students conducting research. Eisenmann will maintain his established collaborative research efforts with state, national and international organizations. He will also contribute to the development of a community-wide public health strategy focused on child maturation, obesity and physical fitness in West Michigan. 

Eisenmann comes to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital from Michigan State University where he was an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology. He will maintain a faculty appointment in MSU’s Department of Pediatrics and Human Development. He has published nearly 120 papers and presented 150 scientific papers throughout his career. Eisenmann’s research interests include children’s growth and maturation, body composition and obesity, cardio-metabolic risk factors and physical fitness of youth. He is an active member of two national research networks on child obesity and exercise medicine, the American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise in Medicine and is a board member of the North American Society for Pediatric Exercise Medicine.

Eisenmann earned a doctorate in kinesiology from Michigan State University focused on human growth, maturation and pediatric exercise science, a Master of Arts in exercise science from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelors of Science from Mayville State University in Mayville, North Dakota.

Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, of Spectrum Health, is a Grand Rapids-based hospital serving children throughout Michigan. A teaching hospital, it includes nearly 200 pediatric physicians with training in providing medical and surgical care to children in more than 40 pediatric specialties. A new 440,000 square foot hospital opened in January 2011 designed specifically with children and families in mind. Visit helendevoschildrens.org to learn more.