Social & Behavior Research
Healthy Living
IHA Healthy Living research promotes health and reduces chronic disease. It engages community members in intervention programs to spur positive lifestyle changes. The programs improve behavioral health and overall wellness within communities and populations. They aim to reduce health disparities.
Through the Healthy Living program, IHA translates its discoveries in responsive agriculture and precision nutrition to community settings.
Custom-tailored community intervention
Healthy Living programs engage people of all ages: young children and their families, adolescents, and older adults. Although the programs pay particular attention to rural and underserved groups, they benefit urban and rural communities alike.
IHA scientists tailor these programs to fit various contexts: personal, cultural, community, and environmental. Scientists design the programs to be cost effective, easy to sustain, and scalable.
Before launch, programs undergo evaluation to ensure that they are relevant and appropriate to the communities they will serve.
Project highlight
Strong hearts, healthy communities
Finding new ways to fight cardiovascular disease
Older women in rural communities are at particular risk of cardiovascular disease, the #1 cause of death in the U.S.
To help this population achieve better health, IHA researchers launched Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities 2.0. This intervention program significantly improved fitness among women over 40 who had sedentary lifestyles.
The program provided skill-based nutrition education. It made it easy for subjects to become physically active.
Women in the program didn’t just get fit—they stayed fit. That’s a sign of the program’s success. Maintaining healthful behaviors is key to achieving clinical improvements and public health impact.
Progress reports & future plans
Project snapshot
There are currently 14 active Healthy Living projects operating in community-based settings.
- 64 urban and rural counties are engaged
- There are more than 4,000 active study participants
Scholarly achievements
In 2023, the Healthy Living team achieved the following:
- 24 new publications in high-impact journals
- 22 national and international presentations
- Funding from USDA, NIH and the American Heart Association
Future plans
Additional community-focused projects will actively involve local voices and collaborate with residents, ensuring the research is both meaningful and responsive to the community’s unique challenges.
Recent publications
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Public health communication during the COVID-19 health crisis: sustainable pathways to improve health information access and reach among underserved communities
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Process evaluation findings from Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities 2.0: a cardiovascular disease prevention intervention for rural women
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Barrier and Facilitators to Implementing Strong Teens for Healthy School: A qualitative analysis using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research framework
Partnerships
The Healthy Living program has established more than 50 partnerships. Among them are the following:
- AgriLife Extension
- Academic groups
- Faith-based organizations
- Health centers, clinics, and hospital groups
- Public school systems
- Civic and community organizations
- Farmers and farmers’ market associations
- Assisted living facilities
To all of our partners:
Thank you for your collaboration and insights. Your involvement is making a positive difference in the health of your community.
Team members
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Rebecca Seguin-Fowler
Ph.D., R.D.N., L.D., C.S.C.S.
IHA Associate Director, Healthy Living
Rebecca Seguin-Fowler is Associate Director for the Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture at Texas A&M University. As a public health scientist with expertise in community-based nutrition and physical activity intervention research, she provides leadership for the organization’s social and behavioral intervention…
Healthy Living faculty scientists
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Alexandra MacMillan Uribe
Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Nutrition
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Chad Rethorst
Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Nutrition
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Jacob Szeszulski
Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Nutrition
Healthy Living research staff
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Alisha George
Research Associate
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Allyson Schaefers
Senior Research Associate
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Andrew McNeely
Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
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Angel Christou
Program Aide
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Byunggul “BG” Lim
Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
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Deyaun Jafari
Ph.D.
Research Specialist
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Emma Lewis
Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
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Erika Largacha Cevallos
Senior Research Associate
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Gabi De Mello
Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
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Galen Eldridge
Research Specialist
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Kendra Marstall
Research Associate
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Lily Benner
Research Specialist
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Margaret Demment
Ph.D.
Lead Data Analyst
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Meghan Kershaw
Research Specialist
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Meredith Graham
Research and Evaluation Specialist
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Vi Luong
Program and Operations Manager/Senior Research Specialist
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Victoria Trevino
Research Associate
Get involved
Participant signup
Healthy Living studies frequently recruit participants. As a research participant, you may learn ways to improve your health. You may also support the discovery of information that helps others live healthier lives.
Provide feedback
The IHA develops new ways to combat chronic disease through positive lifestyle changes. We welcome your ideas, comments, and suggestions.
Join our mailing list
We’ll keep you up to date on new findings pertaining to diet-related chronic disease.