Henna Muzaffar, Ph.D., RD

Title: Associate Professor, Eating Disorder and Obesity Certificate Facilitator
Division: Health Studies
Office Location: Wirtz Hall 253
Office Phone: 815-753-5178
Email: hmuzaffar@niu.edu

Courses Taught

  • FSHN 428: Community Nutrition
  • HDFS 494: Food and Family Transdisciplinary Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • FSHN 595: Health Disparities Research
  • UHHS 760: Knowledge Integration in the Health Sciences
  • HSCI 430: Working with Diverse Populations in Health and Human Sciences
  • HSCI 430: Working with Diverse Populations in Health and Human Sciences
  • HLTH 600: Seminar on Public Policy Development and Evidence-based Practice
  • HSCI 460: Research in Health and Human Sciences
  • HLTH 600: Seminar on Program Planning and Evaluation
  • NUTR 602: Issues Eating Disorders and Obesity

Educational Background

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • M.S., University of Cincinnati
  • B.S., University of Cincinnati

Academic/Research Interests

Professor Muzaffar’s research focuses on obesity prevention with children and families in the schools and the community. She employs process as well as impact evaluation, and quantitative and qualitative methodologies, for robust interpretation of her research studies. Her health promotion programs are framed within behavioral change theories. She has also done work with the Latino population in rural areas to address obesity and health disparities.

She is the chair-elect for the Nutrition Education for Public Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics and the past-chair for the Nutrition Education & Behavior Science Research Interest Section of the American Society for Nutrition.

Professional Registration and Licensure

  • Registered Dietitian (RD) since January, 2008: 993790
  • Licensed Dietitian (LD) since January, 2008: 164004862

Selected Publications

Articles

Karecka, P., Copeland, T. and Muzaffar, H. (2023) Evaluation of the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) Program in Third through Fifth Graders in Northern Illinois. Health, 15, 1191-1201.

Muzaffar H, Castelli D, Goss D, Scherer J, Chapman-Novakofski K. (2011). Middle school students want more than games for health education on the internet. Creative Education, 2, 393-397

Muzaffar H, Castelli D, Scherer J, Chapman-Novakofski K. (2013). The HOT (Healthy Outcome for Teens) Project: Using a web-based medium to influence attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and intention for obesity and Type 2 diabetes prevention. Appetite, 72, 82-89.

Muzaffar H, Castelli D, Scherer J, Chapman-Novakofski K. (2014). The impact of web-based HOT (Healthy Outcomes for Teens) Project on risk for Type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, 16(12), 1-7.

Muzaffar H, Chapman-Novakofski K, Castelli D, Scherer J. (2016). Qualitative evaluation of interactive features in HOT (Healthy Outcomes for Teens) Project website. Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies, 11(3), 17-27.

Diaz K, Muzaffar H, Meline B, Chapman-Novakofski. (2016). Talk, Heart, Hands: A culturally sensitive approach to nutrition education for Latinos with young children. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 48(6), 425-429.e1.

Nikolaus CJ, Muzaffar H, Nickols-Richardson S. (2016). Grocery store (or supermarket) tours as an effective nutrition education medium: A systematic review. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 48(8), 544-554.

Ferguson GM, Muzaffar H, Iturbide M, Chu Hui, Gardner JM. (2017). Feel American, Watch American, Eat American? Remote acculturation, TV, and nutrition among Jamaican adolescent-mother dyads. Child Development, DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12808.

Muzaffar H, Fiese B, Jarick J. (2018). Narrative review of culinary interventions to promote healthy eating: Directions for future research and practice. Current Developments in Nutrition.

Muzaffar H, Nickols-Richardson S. (2019). Modification, feasibility and reliability testing of a social cognitive theory based questionnaire regarding food related behaviors with adolescents. Health Behavior & Policy Review, 6(3), 286-297.

Muzaffar H, Raffaelli M, Teran-Garcia M, Wiley A, Hannon B, Gonzalez M. (2019). A Community Based Participatory Assessment of the Health Status and Obesity Risks in Children from Rural Farmworker Families in the Midwest. Hispanic Health Care International Journal, https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1540415319843078.

Muzaffar H, Nikolas CJ, Nickols-Richardson S. (2019). Promoting Cooking, Nutrition and Physical Activity in Afterschool Settings. American Journal of Health Behavior, 43(6), 1050-1063.

Contact Us

College of Health and Human Sciences
Wirtz Hall 227
815-753-1891
chhs@niu.edu

The Dean's Office is open for face-to-face meetings by appointment only.

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