Spotlight

Dr. Weiyun Chen

Biography:

Weiyun Chen is an Associate Professor of Health and Fitness and Director of the Physical Activity and Health Laboratory at the U-M School of Kinesiology. Her research primarily focuses on developing innovative and effective school-based physical activity intervention strategies for promoting daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, health-related physical fitness, motor skill competency, and intrinsic motivation for physical activity. She also focuses on identifying behavioral and psychosocial mechanisms of promoting and maintaining physically active habits and healthy weight in youth. She has been the principal investigator of two three-year U.S. Department of Education Carol White Physical Education Program (PEP) grant projects, which examined how school-based comprehensive physical activity programs facilitated elementary school students in developing healthy habits. She earned a PhD in Physical Education Pedagogy at the University of Alabama.

What are you currently working on?

We are currently working with nine physical education teachers to conduct the funded project titled, Sustaining Quality Physical Education for Healthy Kids in grades 3-8 at nine schools (five elementary and four middle schools) over the course of two years. The objectives of the project are to:

• Empower physical education teachers’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions for implementing Technology-Enhanced (Smart) Quality Physical Education (QPE) by engaging in professional development activities; and
• Help students become physically active and fit, mentally healthy, and socio-emotionally competent, ultimately reducing the prevalence of childhood obesity.

What led you to pursue a career in childhood obesity?

My PhD training, my professional career as a teacher/educator, and my research focus has led me to my work to help prevent childhood obesity.

What do you like most about your job or what do you find most exciting about it?

My job can directly help children develop healthy and active behaviors, improve physical and mental health, and become socially and emotionally competent persons.

The Momentum Center is a cross-disciplinary research center. How have you drawn on your other experiences to do this kind of research?

I have drawn on the social network I have developed and established with school physical education teachers and administrators and continue to work with them to conduct school-based projects.

If you had unlimited time and resources to explore a research question, what would you want to study?

To explore levels of social-emotional skills and competency between kids who are less physically active and obese and kids who are physically active and healthy weight.

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