Dr. Sacheck champions programs and policies that promote optimal nutrition, physical activity, and health across the lifespan with a focus on those most at risk for poor health outcomes.  Her current research lies at the intersection of nutrition, physical activity, and health-related outcomes with the goal of reducing pediatric health disparities. For the past two decades she has conducted obesity and chronic disease prevention research in both schools and communities. Recent projects have focused on food insecurity, food literacy, and physical literacy. Previous randomized trials have included community-based diet and physical activity intervention studies and their impact on a variety of health outcomes including cardiometabolic risk, social-emotional well-being, and cognitive health among low-income, diverse children and youth.

Dr. Sacheck’s research focuses on the impact of diet and physical activity on a variety of health outcomes, with a focus on pediatric health disparities. Her research has spanned the laboratory to community-, school-, and home-based studies.  Funding has included grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the Department of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Agriculture and well-respected local and national foundations. Ongoing research trials include the NIH-funded SPLASH Study (Supporting Physical Literacy at School and Home) and a school-based food literacy evaluation in partnership with FRESHFARM/FoodPrints funded by the USDA.  Previous NIH-funded randomized trials include examining dietary factors on cardiometabolic risk among youth (The Daily D Health Study), the impact of school-based physical activity programs on activity levels, cognitive health, and academic achievement among lower-income children (The FLEX Study), as well as the COACHES Project (Creating Opportunities for Adolescents through Coaching, Healthy Eating, and Sports) funded by DHHS. Dr. Sacheck was an appointed member of the Institute of Medicine’s committee on Fitness and Health Outcomes in Youth and is also a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, where she actively participates on advisory committees on national health policy and youth sports and health initiatives.