Info For:

Michael Lowe, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Expertise psychology nutrition

Lowe is a professor of clinical psychology at Drexel University. He has served as a long-term research consultant to Weight Watchers and to the Renfrew Center for eating disorders. He is the author of an influential review paper that makes a sharp distinction between restrained eating and dieting to lose weight. He conducts NIH-funded research on the origins of, and treatments for, eating disorders and obesity, and pioneered the study of hedonic hunger, weight suppression and weight variability.

Lowe developed the Power of Food Scale, which has been used in hundreds of studies around the world, and by Weight Watchers, Pfizer and Eli Lilly in their treatment development trials. In his teaching and research mentorship, he encourages students to not only learn the material but to also question it as part of the process of developing their own perspective. He has recently developed a model suggesting that genetic and environmental determinants of obesity and eating disorders, along with the effects of these conditions on the brain and body, undermines the ability of self-regulation treatments to improve these conditions.

Contact

215.553.7116 michael.lowe@drexel.edu

Media Inquiries

Annie Korp

amk522@drexel.edu 215.571.4244

In The News

Opinion: Artificial Sweeteners Can Be Worse Than the Sugar They Replace. Here’s a Better Alternative
Mar 14, 2023
Research by Michael Lowe, PhD, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, on hedonic hunger — pleasure-driven eating — was cited in a March 14 CNN story about new research on artificial sweeteners.
Steve Jobs Used the Power of Encouragement To Achieve What Others Thought Impossible. He Was Mostly Right
Jun 14, 2022
A 2018 study co-authored by Michael Lowe, PhD, a professor, and Meghan Butryn, PhD, a professor, both in the College of Arts and Sciences, suggesting that people are more likely to succeed at difficult tasks if they are aware of the difficulty, was mentioned in a June 14 Inc. article about balancing encouragement with realistic expectations to help people achieve their goals.
Hedonic Hunger and the Science of Why We Can’t Stop Eating
Mar 3, 2021
Michael Lowe, PhD, a professor, and Stephanie Manasse, PhD, an assistant research professor in the Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science (WELL Center), both in the College of Arts and Sciences, were quoted in a March 3 WebMD magazine article about hedonic eating, the urge to consume pleasurable foods even when not hungry, and binge eating, when a person consumes a large amount of food quickly repeatedly.
The Coronavirus Has Made Work Friends More Important Than Ever: 6 Tips For Building Relationships
Mar 22, 2020
A 2018 study led by Michael Lowe, PhD, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, suggesting that people are more likely to succeed at a difficult tasks if they are aware of the difficulty, was mentioned in a March 22 Forbes article about maintaining work friendships to ensure success while working remotely due to the pandemic.
Start Saying 1 Thing to Your Kids More Often, and Science Says They Will Be Much More Successful
Oct 10, 2019
A 2018 study led by Michael Lowe, PhD, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, was mentioned in an Oct. 10 Inc. article about a counterintuitive method for parents to help their children succeed at difficult tasks. The study suggests that people are more likely to succeed at a difficult task if they are aware of the difficulty, despite the desire to downplay challenges.
Keep your Fatphobia out of Food Deserts
Aug 15, 2019
A 2013 study of restricted eating being a predictor of weight gain by Michael Lowe, PhD, psychology professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, was mentioned in an Aug. 15 Medium article about the focus of studies on BMI in food deserts, instead of finding solutions for the food desert issue.
Is Getting ‘Hangry’ Actually a Thing?
Aug 29, 2018
Michael Lowe, PhD, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in an Aug. 29 Wall Street Journal story about whether irritability can be the direct result of low blood sugar.
Losing Weight is Hard. Here's One Way to Make it Easier.
Feb 2, 2018
Michael Lowe, PhD, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in Feb. 2 stories in Medical News Today and Men’s Fitness about his new research that studied three weight loss interventions and their effects on cognitive restraint.
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Related Articles

bowl of salad, handheld weights and tape measure Drexel Joins NIH Study to Understand Why Dieters Regain Weight
Jul 10, 2023
Researchers from Drexel University are helping to lead a $3.7 million National Institutes of Health effort to understand why some people regain weight they have lost it as recent developments in weight loss interventions are raising new questions about how we understand this public health challenge.
Green fruits and vegetables surrounding a glass containing a green smoothie. Dieting: Villain or Scapegoat? Research Reevaluates Weight Loss Dieting
Aug 17, 2021
For decades, there has been an accepted definition of dieting in academia, and in society as a whole. Michael Lowe, PhD, a professor in Drexel University’s College of Arts and Sciences, has recently reevaluated the decades of dieting research to redefine the way researchers and the public define – and therefore understand - dieting and the culture of weight loss.
weight loss To Improve Self-Control, Call Weight Loss What It Is: Difficult
Jan 29, 2018
Painting a realistic picture of the challenges of weight loss can lead to greater long-term outcomes, a new study from a Drexel psychologist shows.
scale with apple and measure Shedding Consistent Pounds Each Week Linked to Long-Term Weight Loss
Aug 28, 2017
When it comes to losing weight, it’s not necessarily slow, but steady, that wins the race, according to new research from Drexel psychologists.
Have an Apple-Shaped Body? You May Be More Susceptible to Binge Eating
Nov 12, 2015
Women with apple-shaped bodies – those who store more of their fat in their trunk and abdominal regions – may be at particular risk for the development of eating episodes during which they experience a sense of “loss of control,” according to a new study from Drexel University. The study also found that women with greater fat stores in their midsections reported being less satisfied with their bodies, which may contribute to loss-of-control eating.
Women with a tendency for excessive weight gain during development may be more susceptible to developing an eating disorder, Drexel research finds. Elevated Childhood Weight May Increase Susceptibility to Eating Disorders
Mar 4, 2015
A group of researchers at Drexel University suggest that actual elevations in body mass during childhood may play a much bigger role in the development of disordered eating than previously thought.
Weight suppression is the difference between a person's past highest weight and their current weight. Past Weight Loss an Overlooked Factor in Disordered Eating
Sep 24, 2013
Due to a complex and vicious cycle of biological and behavioral factors, dieters and weight loss researchers know, the more weight you’ve lost, the harder it is to keep it off. But eating disorder research has largely overlooked this influence, and Dr.Michael Lowe, a professor of psychology at Drexel University, has published a flurry of research studies showing that needs to change.
Do Women with Bulimia Have Both an Eating Disorder and a Weight Disorder?
Feb 29, 2012
Researchers at Drexel University have found that a majority of women with bulimia nervosa reach their highest-ever body weight after developing their eating disorder, despite the fact that the development of the illness is characterized by significant weight loss.

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