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Personal information

Name: Seidell
First name: Jacob (Jaap) C.
T: +31 20 5986995 (6985 for secretary)
F: +31 20 598 6940
E: jaap.seidell@falw.vu.nl

Position: professor Nutrition and Health, director Institute of Health Sciences

Short Biography
Education/academic training (starting from masters)
 - 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.

Research Interests I have been involved in research on the causes and consequences of obesity since 1983. My co-workers and I have made particularly contributions in the following areas:
1. Time-trends of the prevalence of obesity in a national and international context. In the period 1992-2002 I was responsible for the national monitoring programs and some major cohort studies on determinants of health in The Netherlands.
2. Measurement body composition and fat distribution. We developed methods to estimate the accumulation of total fat in the body as well as deposition of fat in the abdominal cavity (visceral fat) from anthropometric measures. We were among the first to establish methods to assess fat depots with magnetic resonance imaging in humans.
3. Impairment of health in people with large waist circumferences: the effect of abdominal fat distribution in relation to health outcomes (mortality and morbidity) in epidemiological studies and clinical investigations. We were among the first to recommend now commonly used cut-points for the waist circumference for the classification of abdominal obesity.
4. Lifestyle and hormonal factors as determinants of abdominal fatness. One of the key publications here is the association of low testosterone levels in adult men with increased accumulation of visceral fat and measures of insulin resistance.
5. The potential protective effect of fat and muscle on hips and legs with regard to the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 6. A relatively new area is the establishment of research programs aimed at the prevention of obesity in the general population and in specific high-risk groups.

Summary of other achievements: - Policy and communication: With regard to health policy, I have been advising the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports in The Netherlands on matters related to overweight management and policies regarding diet and prevention of chronic diseases. In that capacity I was member of several expert reports, for example of the Health Council (Gezondheidsraad). In addition, I have been involved in seven major expert committees and consultations of the World Health Organization regarding global recommendations on diet and the prevention of chronic diseases and optimal physical status and growth and development in all stages of life. I also frequently give advice to non-governmental organizations (e.g. consumer organizations), the food industry, and the general public (through frequent media contacts with national newspapers, magazines, radio and television).

- Academic training and management In 2002 I became responsible for the creation of new bachelors and masters programs in Health Sciences and the Vrije Universiteit. This included also creating a new Institute for Health Sciences which grew from two people in april 2002 to about 40 professional academics in 2007. The number of students currently enrolled in these programs is about 600. I enjoy teaching in a variety of subjects ranging from scientific methodology to societal aspects of health related matters.

Professional employment history (mentioning of awards and Int. collaborations) - 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 (studies on genetics of obesity)
- 1999-2002 adjunct professor of nutrition at the VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam.
- 2002- present full professor of nutrition and health at the Vrije Universiteit (School for Life Sciences) and the VU University Medical Center.
- 2003- present director of the Institute for Health Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
- 2004- present scientific director Research Centre for Prevention of Overweight Zwolle (OPOZ).

5 Key publications as 1st author (by number of citations: sept. 2007) Web of Science, sept. 2007: Results found: 246 Sum of the Times Cited: 9,136 Average Citations per Item: 37.14 h-index: 54
1. Seidell JC, Björntorp P, Sjöström L, Kvist H, Sannerstedt R. Visceral fat accumulation in men is positively associated with insulin, glucose, and c-peptide levels but negatively with testosterone levels. Metabolism 1990; 39: 897 901. (citations: 288)
2. Seidell JC, Oosterlee A, Thijssen MAO, Burema J, Deurenberg P, Hautvast JGAJ, Ruijs JHJ. Assessment of intra-abdominal and subcutaneous abdominal fat - relation between anthropometry and computed tomography. Am J Clin Nutr 1987; 45:7 13. (citations: 203)
3. Seidell JC, Verschuren WMM, Van Leer EM, Kromhout D. Overweight, underweight and mortality - a prospective study in 48,287 men and women. Arch Intern Med 1996;156:958-63. (citations: 144)
4. Seidell JC, Bakker CJG, van der Kooy K. Imaging techniques for measurement of adipose tissue distribution - a comparison between computed tomography and magnetic resonance (1.5T). Am J Clin Nutr 1990;51:953 7. (citations: 142)
5. Seidell JC, Oosterlee A, Deurenberg P, Hautvast JGAJ, Ruijs JHJ. Abdominal fat depots measured with computed tomography: effects of degree of obesity, sex, and age. Eur J Clin Nutr 1988;42:805 15. (citations: 134)

5 publications as co-author:
1. Barba C, Cavalli-Sforza T, Cutter J, Darnton-Hill I, Deurenberg P, Deurenberg-Yap M, Gill T, James P, Ko G, Miu AH, Kosulwat V, Kumanyika S, Kurpad A, Mascie-Taylor N, Moon HK, Nishida C, Noor MI, Reddy KS, Rush E, Schultz JT, Seidell JC, Stevens J, Swinburn B, Tan K, Weisell R, Wu ZS, Yajnik CS, Yoshiike N, Zimmet P. Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet 2004; 363: 157-163. (citations: 268)
2. Han TS, Van Leer EM, Seidell JC, Lean MEJ. Waist circumference action levels in the identification of cardiovascular risk factors: prevalence study in a random sample. Brit Med J 1995; 311:1401-5 (citations: 261).
3. Deurenberg P, Weststrate JA, Seidell JC. Body mass index as a measure of body fatness: age and sex specific prediction formulas. Br J Nutr 1991;65: 105-14 (citations: 229).
4. Van der Kooy K, Seidell JC. Techniques for the measurement of visceral fat: a practical guide. Int J Obesity 1993; 17: 187-96 (citations: 207).
5. Lean MEJ, Han TS, Seidell JC. Impairment of health and quality of life in people with large waist circumference. Lancet 1998;351: 853-6. (citations: 190).

Reports of the World Health Organization and other international agencies.
1. World Health Organization. Physical Status: the use and interpretation of anthropometry. WHO Technical Report Series # 854, WHO Geneva, 1995 (Seidell as rapporteur).

2. World Health Organization. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. WHO Technical Report Series # 894, WHO Geneva, 2000 (Seidell as rapporteur)

3. WHO/International Agency for Research on Cancer. Weight control and physical activity. IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, volume 6, IARC Press, 2002 (Seidell co-chair and expert member)

4. World Health Organization. Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. WHO Technical Report Series # 916, WHO Geneva, 2003 (Seidell as rapporteur)

5. WHO Expert Consultation. Appropriate body mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet 2004 (see # 41 under reviews).

6. UNU conference on growth standards. Geneva. Published as supplement to the Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 2006.

7. The challenge of obesity in the WHO European Region and the strategies for response. WHO, Europe (Branca F, Nikogosian H, Lobstein T, editors); 2007.

8. World Cancer Research Fund. Food, Nutrition, Physical activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective. Washington DC, AICR, 2007.

9. Joint FAO/WHO Scientific Update on Carbohydrates in Human Nutrition (published as supplement 1, December 2007 European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, see nr. 55 under reviews).

10. World Health Organization. Expert meeting on Childhood Obesity in Kobe Japan, (in preparation).