Timothy G Lohman, PhD

If you are a student interested in our research please contact Dr. Scott Going regarding requests for volunteer work and/or internships.The development of new methodologies to estimate fat, bone and muscle in the human body has opened up the possibilities for more quantitative studies on growth and development and aging and the investigation of the effects of physical activity on the growth and aging process. Of primary interest in this laboratory is the assessment of bone development and its association with physical activity, nutritional history and exercise training. A second area is the study of fat development in children and the documentation of prevalence and incidence of obesity during adolescence along with the association of body composition with cardiovascular disease risk factors. To better assess the impact of exercise on body composition in various populations, a multicomponent approach to body composition assessment has been developed using several methodologies including densitometry, hydrometry and photon absorptiometry. This multi-component approach allows more quantitative approach to the evaluation of exercise treatments and enables a more careful evaluation of new methodologies such as whole body bioelectric impedance, dual and x-ray photon absorptiometry, ultrasonics, and infrared reactance. A final aspect of this research is the need to develop population specific formulae to provide more accurate estimates of fat and fat-free body from traditional methodologies including anthropometry, body mass index and densitometry.