Courtney Byrd-Williams, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences
courtney.e.byrdwilliams@uth.tmc.edu
Dr. Courtney Byrd-Williams is an Assistant Professor and Director of the MCH Training Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health in Austin. Her research interests focus on the promotion of healthy living among infants, children and their families. She received her PhD in Health Behavior Research from the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine.
Current Projects
ENRICH (Encouraging Nurturing Responsiveness to Improve Child Health)
ENRICH stands for Encouraging Nurturing Responsiveness to Improve Child Health. This research project works to help parents establish healthy eating, activity, bedtime, and screen time routines.
Lunch is in the Bag
The purpose of this intervention is to encourage parents to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in sack lunches for their preschool children in childcare centers. The goal for this research is the development of new strategies for the promotion of healthy eating practices in children through childcare centers.
CATCH Healthy Smiles
CATCH Healthy Smiles teaches students why toothbrushing, flossing, dentist visits, and healthy food and drink choice are important to oral health. Students will learn and practice the skills necessary to maintain healthy smiles.
Texas Child Obesity Research Demonstration (CORD)
This project will connect the dots between families, pediatricians, schools and local youth organizations to develop community capacity for early detection and effective management of obesity using evidence-based programs like CATCH and MEND.
CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health)
CATCH is a research-based program designed to guide schools, families and children in healthy eating and physical activity.
Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Partnership
The Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Technical Assistance Partnership was established to provide technical assistance and support to worksites across the state of Texas who are seeking Mother-Friendly designation, a designation which demonstrates a basic level of support for nursing mothers in the workplace
HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living)
This project is a clinic-community based intervention to implement an early life-cycle approach to obesity prevention among pregnant women and women with infants from low-income families.
Recent Publications
Impact of the Coordinated Approach to Child Health Early Childhood Program for Obesity Prevention among Preschool Children: The Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Study
Sharma, S. V., Vandewater, E., Chuang, R. J., Byrd-Williams, C., Kelder, S., et al. (2019). Childhood obesity (Print), 15(1), 1–13.
Behavior Modification of Diet and Parent Feeding Practices in a Community- Vs Primary Care-Centered Intervention for Childhood Obesity
Wilson, T. A., Liu, Y., Adolph, A. L., Sacher, P. M., Barlow, S. E., et al. (2019). Journal of nutrition education and behavior, 51(2), 150–161.e1.
Dietary intake, attitudes toward healthy food, and dental pain in low-income youth.
Nicksic, N. E., Massie, A. W., Byrd-Williams, C. E., Kelder, S. H., Sharma, S. V., et al. (2018). JDR clinical and translational research, 3(3), 279–287.
Dietary intake, attitudes toward healthy food, and dental pain in low-income youth
Nicksic, N. E., Massie, A. W., Byrd-Williams, C. E., Kelder, S. H., Sharma, S. V., et al. (2018). JDR clinical and translational research, 3(3), 279–287.
Pilot Evaluation of HEAL - A Natural Experiment to Promote Obesity Prevention Behaviors Among Low-Income Pregnant Women
Sharma, S. V., Chuang, R. J., Byrd-Williams, C., Danho, M., Upadhyaya, M., et al. (2018). Preventive medicine reports, 10, 254–262.
Parent packs, child eats: Surprising results of Lunch is in the Bag's efficacy trial
Roberts-Gray, C., Ranjit, N., Sweitzer, S. J., Byrd-Williams, C. E., Romo-Palafox, M. J., et al. (2018). Appetite, 121, 249–262.
Best Practices and Barriers to Obesity Prevention in Head Start: Differences Between Director and Teacher Perceptions
Byrd-Williams, C., Dooley, E. E., Sharma, S. V., Chuang, R. J., Butte, N., et al. (2017). Preventing chronic disease, 14.
Best practices and barriers to obesity prevention in Head Start: Baseline differences in director and teacher perceptions from the TX CORD Study
Byrd-Williams, C., Dooley, E. E., Sharma, S. V., Chuang, R. J., Butte, N., et al. (2017). Preventing chronic disease, 14, E139.
Contribution of Beverage Selection to the Dietary Quality of the Packed Lunches Eaten by Preschool-Aged Children
Romo-Palafox, M. J., Ranjit, N., Sweitzer, S. J., Roberts-Gray, C., Byrd-Williams, et al. (2018). Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 118(8), 1417–1424.
Efficacy of a Community- Versus Primary Care-Centered Program for Childhood Obesity: TX CORD RCT
Butte, N. F., Hoelscher, D. M., Barlow, S. E., Pont, S., Durand, C., et al. (2017). Obesity, 25(9), 1584-1593.
Structuring Process Evaluation to Forecast Use and Sustainability of an Intervention: Theory and Data From the Efficacy Trial for Lunch Is in the Bag
Roberts-Gray, C., Sweitzer, S. J., Ranjit, N., Potratz, C., Rood, M., et al. (2017). Health Education & Behavior, 44(4), 559-569.
Efficacy of a Community- vs. Primary Care-Centered Program for Childhood Obesity: TX CORD RCT
Butte, N. F., Hoelscher, D. M., Barlow, S. E., Pont, S., Durand, C., et al. (2017). Obesity, 25(9), 1584-1593.
Adequacy of Parent-Packed Lunches and Preschooler's Consumption Compared to Dietary Reference Intake Recommendations
Romo-Palafox, M. J., Ranjit, N., Sweitzer, S. J., Roberts-Gray, C., Byrd-Williams, C. E., et al. (2017). Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 36(3), 169-176.
Effectiveness of the Lunch Is in the Bag Program on Communication Between the Parent, Child and Child-Care Provider Around Fruits, Vegetables and Whole Grain Foods: A Group-Randomized Controlled Trial
(Sharma SV, Rashid T, Ranjit N, Byrd-Williams C, Chuang RJ, Roberts-Gray C, Briley M, Sweitzer S, Hoelscher DM; Preventive Medicine; 2015)
The utility of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in systems-oriented obesity intervention projects: the selection of comparable study sites for a quasi-experimental intervention design--TX CORD
(Oluyomi AO, Byars A, Byrd-Williams C, Sharma SV, Durand C, Hoelscher DM, Butte NF, Kelder SH; Child Obesity; 2015)
Nutrition-related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Dietary Behaviors Among Head Start Teachers in Texas: A Cross-Sectional Study
(Sharma SV, Byrd-Williams C, Truxillo JB, Rahman GA, Skala K, Hoelscher, DM; Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2013)
Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve Adiposity, Inflammation, and Insulin Resistance in African-American and Latino Youth with Obesity
(Hasson RE, Adam TC, Davis JN, Kelly LA, Ventura EE, Toledo-Corral C, Byrd-Williams C, Roberts CK, Lane CJ, Azen SP, Chou C, Spruijt-Metz D, Weigensberg M, Berhane K, Goran MI; Obesity , 2012)
Effects of a randomized maintenance intervention on adiposity and metabolic risk factors in overweight minority adolescents
(Davis JN, Ventura EE, Tung A, Munerva MA, Hasson RE, Byrd-Williams C, Vanni AK, Spruijt-Metz D, Weigensberg M, Goran MI ; Pediatric Obesity , 2012)
Recent News
Study Shows Texas Leads in Worksite Lactation Support Initiatives
Texas is ranked in the top quarter of the U.S. for its worksite lactation support initiatives, according to research led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health.
Don’t Overuse Baby Food Pouches, Experts Warn
Walk the baby food aisle and you'll quickly notice that those miniature glass jars of baby food from your childhood are being overtaken by squeezable, suck-able, disposable pouches.
More Pros or Cons of Food Pouches?
Useful, tasty, and apparently healthy, food pouches appear to be the best solution, however, according to a study by The University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth) parents might consider pausing prior to stocking their pantries.
Food Pouches – Parents’ Friend or Foe? Expert Weighs the Pros and Cons of Pureed Options
Convenient, appetizing, and seemingly healthy, food pouches appear to be the perfect solution – but time-starved parents might want to pause before loading up their pantries, according to research by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
