University at Buffalo

Myles S. Faith

Myles S. Faith

Professor

COUNSELING, SCHOOL AND EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Specialty/Research Focus

Bullying; Child and Adolescent Development; Design and Analysis of Longitudinal Research; Eating Disorders; Family; Mental Health; Measurements; Quantitative Research Methods; Research Design; Research Methods; School Counseling; Social and Emotional Development; Wellness

Contact Information
420 Baldy Hall
North Campus
Phone: 716-645-1124
mfaith@buffalo.edu
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Overview Research and Teaching Publications Activities News
Education and Training:
  • PhD, Hofstra University, Clinical/School Psychology (1995)
  • BA, Rutgers University, Psychology (1989)
Awards and Honors:
  • 2022 Oded Bar-Or Award for Excellence in Pediatric Obesity Research; The Obesity Society; 2022-11-01;
Grants:
Grant:
  • Exploring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Reinforcer Pathology Differences Among Obesity-Discordant Adolescents; Foundation and Research Organization; UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Pilot Funding Mechanism (https://www.buffalo.edu/ctsi/cores/translational-pilot-studies/pilot-study-rfp.html). Letter of Intent; Awarded; (01/01/2023-12/31/2023)
  • Fetal and Early Postnatal Influences on Child Metabolic Health After Gestational Diabetes; Federal; National Institutes of Health; Continuing; (05/28/2021-04/30/2025)
Contract:
  • GSE Post-doc Fellowship - HELP (Health-Education-Life Protection) for Pandemic-affected Minority Children: Cross-state and Cross-sector Investigations of Systemic Racial Inequalities; Foundation and Research Organization; GSE/UB; Awarded; (04/10/2023-04/09/2025)
Publications:
Book:
  • Faith MS, Diewald LK, Crabbe S, Burgess B, Berkowitz RI. (2019). Reduced Eating Pace (RePace) Behavioral Intervention for Children Prone to or with Obesity: Does the Turtle Win the Race? Obesity. 27:121-129
  • Finn KE, Faith MS, Seo YS. (2018). School Engagement in Relation to Body Mass Index and School Achievement in a High-School Age Sample. Journal of Obesity. Oct 1;2018:3729318.
Journal Special Issue:
  • Betts GM, Lipsky LM, Temmen CD, Siega-Riz AM, Faith MS, Nansel TR. Poorer mental health and sleep quality are associated with greater self-reported reward-related eating during pregnancy and postpartum: an observational cohort study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2021 May 1;18(1):58. doi: 10.1186/s12966-021-01124-9. PMID: 33933087; PMCID: PMC8088672.
Journal Article:
  • Davis AM, Beaver G, Dreyer Gillette M, Nelson EL, Fleming K, Swinburne Romine R, Sullivan DK, Lee R, Pettee Gabriel K, Dean K, Murray M, Faith M. (2019). iAmHealthy: Rationale, design and application of a family-based mHealth pediatric obesity intervention for rural children. Contemporary Clinical Trials. 78:20-26
  • Faith MS, Hittner JB, Hurston SR, Yin J, Greenspan LC, Quesenberry CP Jr, Gunderson EP; SWIFT Offspring Study Investigators. (2019). Association of Infant Temperament With Subsequent Obesity in Young Children of Mothers With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. JAMA Pediatrics. Mar 11. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5199. [Epub ahead of print].
  • Heo M, Pietrobelli A, Wylie-Rosett J, Faith MS. (2019). School-Based Interventions and Programs to Address Weight Issues. Journal of Obesity. 2018 Oct 28;2018:3538964.
  • Spahn JM, Callahan EH, Spill MK, Wong YP, Benjamin-Neelon SE, Birch L, Black MM, Cook JT, Faith MS, Mennella JA, Casavale KO. (2019). Influence of maternal diet on flavor transfer to amniotic fluid and breast milk and children's responses: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 109(Supplement_7):1003S-1026S.
  • Spill MK, Callahan EH, Shapiro MJ, Spahn JM, Wong YP, Benjamin-Neelon SE, Birch L, Black MM, Cook JT, Faith MS, Mennella JA, Casavale K. (2019). Caregiver feeding practices and child weight outcomes: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 109(Supplement_7):990S-1002S
  • Spill MK, Johns K, Callahan EH, Shapiro MJ, Wong YP, Benjamin-Neelon SE, Birch L, Black MM, Cook JT, Faith MS, Mennella JA, Casavale KO. (2019). Repeated exposure to food and food acceptability in infants and toddlers: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 109(Supplement_7):978S-989S.
  • Faith MS, Epstein LH. (2018). Healthy Homes and Obesogenic Genes in Young Children: Rigorous Behavioral Theory and Measurement and the Detection of Gene-Environment Interactions. JAMA Pediatrics. 172(12):1121-1122
  • Heo, M., Jimenez, C.C., Lim, J., Isasi, E.R., Blank, A.E., Lounsbury, D.W., Fredericks, L., Bouchard, M., Faith, M.S., Wylie-Rosett, J., (2018). Effective nationwide school-based participatory extramural program on adolescent body mass index, health knowledge, and behaviors. BMC Pediatrics, 18(1), 7
  • Somaraki, M., Eli, K., Sorjonen, K., Flodmark, C.E., Marcus, C., Faith, M.S., Osowski, C.P., Ek, A. Nowicka, P. (2018). Perceived child eating behaviours and maternal migrant status. Appetite, 125, 302-313.
  • Suglia, S.F., Koenen, K.C., Boynton-Jarrett, R., Chan, P.S., Clark, C.J., Danese, A., Faith, M.S., Goldstein, B.I., Hayman, L.L., Isasi, C.R., Pratt, C.A., Slopen, N., Sumner, J.A., Turer, A., Turer, C.B., Zachariah, J.P.; American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young; Council on Functional Genomics and Translational Biology; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research. (2018). Childhood and adolescent adversity and cardiometabolic outcomes: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 137(5), e15-e28.
  • Tripicchio, G.L., Ammerman, A.S., Ward, D.S., Faith, M.S., Truesdale, K.P., Burger, K.S., Dean, K., Dumenci, L., Davis, A. (2018). Clinical-community collaboration: A strategy to improve retention and outcomes in low-income minority youth in family-based obesity treatment. Childhood Obesity, 14(3), 141-148
  • Tripicchio, G.L., Ammerman, A.S., Neshteruk, C., Faith, M.S., Dean, K., Befort, C., Ward, D.S., Truesdale, K.P., Burger, K.S., Davis, A. (2017). Technology components as adjuncts to family-based pediatric obesity treatment in low-income minority youth. Childhood Obesity, 13(6), 433-442.
  • Wasser, H.M., Thompson, A.L., Suchindran, C.M., Hodges, E.A., Goldman, B.D., Perrin, E.M., Faith, M.S., Bulik, C.M., Heinig, M.J., Bentley, M.E.. (2017). Family-based obesity prevention for infants: Design of the "Mothers & Others" randomized trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 60,24-33.
  • Eli, K., Sorjonen, K., Mokoena, L., Pietrobelli, A., Flodmark, C-E, Faith, M.S., Nowicka, P. (2016). Associations between maternal sense of coherence and controlling feeding practices: The importance of resilience and support in the families of preschoolers. Appetite. 105, 134-143.
  • Faith, M.S., & Hittner, J.B. (2016). Shadows of temperament in child eating behavior: implications for family and parenting research. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 10(3), 961-962.
  • Faith, M.S., Stettler, N., Pietrobelli, A. (2016). Engaging primary care clinicians in early obesity prevention research. Journal of the American Medical Association. 314(8), 823-824.
  • Hittner, J.B., Johnson, C.B., Tripicchio, G., Faith, M.S. (2016). Infant emotional distress, maternal restriction at a home meal, and child BMI gain through 6 years in the Colorado Adoption Project. Eating Behaviors, 21, 135-141.
  • Tripicchio, G., Heo, M., Diewald, L., Noar, S.M., Dooley, R., Pietrobelli, A., Burger, K.S., Faith, M.S. (2016). Restricting advertisements for high-fat, high-sugar foods during children’s television programs: Attitudes in a US population-based sample. Childhood Obesity, 12(2), 113-118.
  • Vaugh, A.E., Ward, D.S., Fisher, J.O., Faith, M.S., Hughes, S.O., Kremers, S.P., Musher-Eizenman, D.R., O’Connor, T.M., Patrick, H., Power, T.G. (2016). Fundamental constructs in food parenting practices: a content map to guide future research. Nutrition Reviews, 74 (2) 98-117.
  • Cui, Z., Seburg, E.M., Sherwood, N.E., Faith, M.S., Ward, D.S. (2015). Recruitment and retention in obesity prevention and treatment trials targeting minority or low-income children: a review of the clinical trials registration database. Trials. 16:564-578.
  • Cummings JR, Faith MS, Lipsky LM, Liu A, Mooney JT, Nansel TR. Prospective relations of maternal reward-related eating, pregnancy ultra-processed food intake and weight indicators, and feeding mode with infant appetitive traits. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2022 Aug 3;19(1):100. doi: 10.1186/s12966-022-01334-9. PMID: 35922793; PMCID: PMC9351142.
  • Lipsky LM, Burger K, Cummings JR, Faith MS, Nansel TR. Associations of parent feeding behaviors and early life food exposures with early childhood appetitive traits in an observational cohort study. Physiol Behav. 2023 Jun 1;265:114175. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114175. Epub 2023 Mar 28. PMID: 36997010; PMCID: PMC10141500.
  • Pietrobelli A, Fearnbach N, Ferruzzi A, Vrech M, Heo M, Faith M, Pecoraro L, Zoller T, Antoniazzi F, Piacentini G, Heymsfield SB. Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on lifestyle behaviors in children with obesity: Longitudinal study update. Obes Sci Pract. 2021 Dec 27;8(4):525-528. doi: 10.1002/osp4.581. PMID: 35949277; PMCID: PMC9358732.
  • Burgess B, Morris KS, Faith MS, Paluch RA, Kong KL. Added sugars mediate the relation between pre-pregnancy BMI and infant rapid weight gain: a preliminary study. Int J Obes . 2021 Dec;45(12):2570-2576. doi: 10.1038/s41366-021-00936-w. Epub 2021 Aug 18. PMID: 34408257.
  • Schwedhelm C, Lipsky LM, Shearrer GE, Betts GM, Liu A, Iqbal K, Faith MS, Nansel TR. Using food network analysis to understand meal patterns in pregnant women with high and low diet quality. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2021 Jul 23;18(1):101. doi: 10.1186/s12966-021-01172-1. PMID: 34301273; PMCID: PMC8306349.
  • Temmen CD, Lipsky LM, Faith MS, Nansel TR. Prospective relations between maternal emotional eating, feeding to soothe, and infant appetitive behaviors. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2021 Aug 11;18(1):105. doi: 10.1186/s12966-021-01176-x. PMID: 34380499; PMCID: PMC8359102.
  • Anzman-Frasca S, Singh A, Curry D, Tauriello S, Epstein LH, Faith MS, Reardon K, Pape D. Evaluating a Board Game Designed to Promote Young Children's Delay of Gratification. Front Psychol. 2020 Nov 11;11:581025. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.581025. PMID: 33262729; PMCID: PMC7686572.
  • Kong KL, Burgess B, Morris KS, Faith MS, Paluch RA. High intake of added sugars is linked to rapid weight gain in infancy, breastfeeding >=12 months may protect against this: A preliminary investigation. Pediatr Obes. 2021 Mar;16(3):e12728. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.12728. Epub 2020 Sep 23. PMID: 32965090.
  • Lipsky LM, Burger KS, Faith MS, Siega-Riz AM, Liu A, Shearrer GE, Nansel TR. Pregnant Women Consume a Similar Proportion of Highly vs Minimally Processed Foods in the Absence of Hunger, Leading to Large Differences in Energy Intake. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2021 Mar;121(3):446-457. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2020.09.036. Epub 2020 Oct 24. PMID: 33109504.
  • Nansel TR, Lipsky LM, Burger K, Faith M, Nicholson W, Stuebe A, Liu A, Siega-Riz AM. Reward-related eating, self-regulation, and weight change in pregnancy and postpartum: the Pregnancy Eating Attributes Study (PEAS). Int J Obes (Lond). 2020 Dec;44(12):2444-2454. doi: 10.1038/s41366-020-00685-2. Epub 2020 Sep 21. PMID: 32958906.
  • Nansel TR, Lipsky LM, Faith M, Liu A, Siega-Riz AM. The accelerator, the brake, and the terrain: associations of reward-related eating, self-regulation, and the home food environment with diet quality during pregnancy and postpartum in the pregnancy eating attributes study (PEAS) cohort. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2020 Nov 23;17(1):149. doi: 10.1186/s12966-020-01047-x. PMID: 33228724; PMCID: PMC7684737.
  • Park SH, Park H, Faith M. Body Weight Perception and Health-Related Behaviors Among U.S. Adolescents: Mediating Effects of Body Weight Control Behaviors. J Sch Nurs. 2021 Mar 24:10598405211003800. doi: 10.1177/10598405211003800. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33759617.
Presentations:
Invited Lectures:
  • Faith MS. "Disarming Food Fights at Family Meals to Support Healthy Child Eating”. Presentation (virtual) to Women, Infants Children (WIC) Association of New York State - 42nd Annual Conference. March 16, 2021.;
  • Faith MS. "Emotional and Nutritional Toll of Weight-based Bullying in Youth”. Presentation (virtual) to Women, Infants Children (WIC) Association of New York State - 42nd Annual Conference. March 17, 2021.;
  • Faith MS. Stretching the Reach of Family-based Childhood Obesity Treatment Using Primary-Care Partnerships and Technology. Presentation (virtual) to Michigan State University, Division of Public Health, College of Medicine. January 12, 2021.;
  • Faith, MS. “Stretching the Reach of Family-based Childhood Obesity Treatment: Primary-Care Partnerships and Technology.” – Presentation (virtual) to University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS), College of Public Health. November 20, 2020.;
  • "Disarming Family Food Fights: Strategies to Cultivate Healthier Child Eating and Stronger Families". Seventh International Conference on Public Health - Indonesia. [Note: Invitation received on 1/30/2020 to present in June 2020. This event is being rescheduled to a later date due to COVID-19];
  • "How to Disarm Food Fights at the Family Dinner Table". 42nd Annual Conference of the WIC Association of New York State - Niagara Falls, NY. [Note: Invitation received on 11/29/2019 to present in April 2020. This event is being rescheduled to a later date due to COVID-19];
  • Faith, M.S. (2015, October). Food cue responsiveness and childhood obesity: Implications for tailored interventions. Inaugural lecture of the New Jersey Institute for Food Nutrition and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.;
Conferences:
  • Berkowitz, R., Faith, M.S., Diewald, L. (2015, November). Mom feeds us differently: Differential restrictive feeding is associated with differential BMI and caloric compensation among male and female twins. Annual meeting of ObesityWeek/The Obesity Society, Los Angeles, CA.;
  • Faith, M.S., Heo, M. Pietrobelli, A. (2015, November). Parents using food as a reward for good behavior: Individual differences and associations with child BMI. Annual meeting of ObesityWeek/The Obesity Society, Los Angeles, CA.;
  • Neshteruk, C., Tripicchio, G., Faith, M.S. (2015, November). Overweight children’s eating behavior and associations with parent feeding practices and concern for child weight in treatment-seeking families. Annual meeting of ObesityWeek/The Obesity Society, Los Angeles, CA.;
  • Nezami, B., Tate, D. Lytle, L., Ward, D. Faith, M.S. (2015, November). Reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in preschool children: A randomized trial of the Smart Moms mHealth Program. Annual meeting of ObesityWeek/The Obesity Society, Los Angeles, CA.;
  • Ward, D., Vaughn, A., Johnes, D., Stevens, J., Bangdiwala, S., Panter, A. Faith, M.S. Why didn’t it work? Lessons learned from a family-focused prevention intervention for preschool children. Annual meeting of ObesityWeek/The Obesity Society, Los Angeles, CA.;
  • Tripicchio, G., Keller, Faith, M.S., Davis, A. (2015, November). Feasibility and acceptability of a home-based telemedicine intervention component of a pediatric obesity treatment program. Annual meeting of ObesityWeek/The Obesity Society, Los Angeles, CA.;
Activities:
Editorial and Review:
  • Co-editor for Special Issue of Journal of Obesity, entitled "School-Based Interventions and Programs to Address Weight Issues." Guest editors were: Moonseong Heo, Angelo Pietrobelli, Judith Wylie-Rosett, Myles S. Faith. Note: Articles are currently under review; the special issue will be published in 2018.
    07/03/2017-01/31/2018
  • Editorial Board Member: International Journal of Obesity (invited 1/5/2016).
    01/05/2016-05/23/2018
Professional Service:
  • Committee/Writing Group Member (ongoing): American Heart Association writing group, "Childhood and Adolescent Adversity and Cardiometabolic Health Outcomes."
    05/23/2016-06/14/2016
  • Committee Member: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Nutrition Evidence Library (NEL) Technical Expert Collaborative (TEC) for the Dietary Guidance Development Project for Infants and Toddlers from Birth to 24 Months and Women Who are Pregnant (B-24/PW). (Ongoing service)
    05/01/2015-06/17/2016
  • Chair, Bio-Behavioral Section of The Obesity Society
    04/01/2015-11/06/2015
  • Committee Member: American Heart Association's Committee on Behavior Change for Improving Health Factors’ – Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Council
    07/01/2014-06/30/2016
News:

    Contact Information

    420 Baldy Hall
    North Campus
    Phone: 716-645-1124
    mfaith@buffalo.edu
    View map

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