
Healthy children
in a healthy world
We advance health and healthy living for children and families through cutting-edge research, innovative community-based programs, and dissemination of evidence-based practices.
COVID-19 Resources
COVID-19 Resources from the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living
The Latest
July Healthy Summer Challenge
Association of masking policies with mask adherence and distancing during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic
Cities may need to be redesigned for extreme heat
June Healthy Summer Challenge Recipe
It’s Hot Outside — And That’s Bad News for Children’s Health
Get to Know Center Faculty: Dr. Andrew Springer
Fact check: No convincing proof that apple cider vinegar helps with weight loss
June Healthy Summer Challenge
Get to Know Center Post-Doctoral Fellow: Dr. Leigh Ann Ganzar
COVID-19 Antibodies Can Last Up to 500 Days After Infection
Easy Flexible Access to Produce and Resources Leads to Boost in Healthy Eating for Central Texas Kids
“How Good Food Works from Seed to Plate,” Earns Distinction with Multiple Awards
UTHealth School of Public Health Austin Campus Dean Authors Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Position Paper
Get to Know Center Faculty: Dr. Marcia Otto
Garden-to-Table Growing what you eat
Gorgeous new Texas Med Center cookbook offers nourishing recipes
Publication Spotlight: Exploring the Impact of Policies to Improve Geographic and Economic Access to Vegetables among Low-Income, Predominantly Latino Urban Residents: An Agent-Based Model
Shreela Sharma, PhD, RDN, was quoted in a Houston Chronicle column about factors contributing to food insecurity in the city
Interview with Dr. Edward Maibach
National Nutrition Month
Looking for research resources?
About the Center
Our Center
The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at the UTHealth School of Public Health in Austin was founded in 2006 with a vision of ‘healthy children in a healthy world’ and a mission to advance health and healthy living for children and families through early and impactful interventions.
Our Work
The Center is dedicated to new discoveries in child and family health, with current programs focused on obesity prevention, nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco use. The Center also provides student training opportunities and community events.
Our Goals
The Center intends to Create new research ideas and enable a workforce through public health student training; Communicate data-driven and evidence-based products and outcomes to researchers and policymakers; and Connect with other public health organizations, community organizations, and policymakers.
The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living has impacted over 8.8 million lives
July 2020 - June 2021
The Center was among the first to raise the alarm for vaping as a public health problem in children and adolescents.
The Center has had a direct hand in developing physical activity guidelines for schools in the U.S.
Center Project CATCH has improved diet and physical activity in millions of children in the U.S. and many other countries.
The Center’s project, Texas SPAN, was the first to collect state-representative obesity surveillance data in elementary, middle, and high schools
- Create
- Connect
- Communicate