Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline Special – Episode 144

Sarah Armstrong, MD, FAAP attended medical school at the University of Virginia and completed a pediatrics residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2003.

Dr. Armstrong’s clinical and research interests focus on the treatment of obesity in children through basic, clinical, and community-engaged research methods. She founded and directs the Duke Healthy Lifestyles Program which is by volume the largest pediatric obesity center in the US, and the only in the southeast region with an accredited adolescent bariatrics program. She also developed and has sustained since 2009 the Bull City Fit program, a community partnership between Duke Children’s and the City of Durham, which delivers obesity treatment to children and families through a local Parks and Recreation center. This model has been disseminated widely, and has informed national guidelines for clinic-community partnerships for the treatment of childhood obesity. Dr. Armstrong was awarded the “Outstanding Advocate for Children” by the NC Pediatrics Society in 2011 for this work.

Dr. Armstrong serves in several national leadership roles, including Chair of the Section of Obesity for the American Academy of Pediatrics, as co-director for the Research Scholars Program of the Academic Pediatrics Association, and as an Executive Committee member for the Society for Pediatric Research. Dr. Armstrong has authored or co-authored multiple AAP policy statements and clinical guidelines for the management of pediatric obesity, is a co-editor for the international textbook on clinical care of obesity in adults and children, and is an author for the 2022 AAP Clinical Practice Guidelines for pediatric obesity screening and treatment. She has also recently started as co-director for the Duke Center for Childhood Obesity Research, a cross-institutional collaborative to advance research for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.

Sarah lives in Chapel Hill, NC with her husband, 3 children, 2 dogs and cat. She is a big fan of the US Women’s Soccer Team and loves to climb up mountains, stare at waterfalls, sleep under the stars, and cook unreasonable amounts of Italian food for family and friends.