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Zeller Lab

Zeller Lab Research

Meg H. Zeller, PhD is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She is a licensed pediatric psychologist as well as a clinical researcher in the area of pediatric obesity. Dr. Zeller was the 2012 recipient of the Logan Wright Distinguished Research Award “for excellence in contributing to the scientific base of pediatric psychology” by The Society of Pediatric Psychology (Division 54) of the American Psychological Association, as well as achieved designation as a Fellow of The Obesity Society in 2013.
Dr. Zeller has a solid track record of both internal Cincinnati Children’s awards and continuous NIH funding since 2001 (K23, R03, R01, U01-UM1). She has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in the area of pediatric obesity and has emerged as a key academic leader in the area of adolescent bariatric surgery. She has also made significant contributions to the growth in the pediatric obesity HRQOL literature, including the development of three psychometrically sound condition-specific instruments: Impact of Weight of Quality of Life: Kids (IWQOL-Kids), Sizing Me Up, and Sizing Them Up (parent-proxy), all of which are actively being used by clinical programs and within NIH and industry-sponsored outcome studies.
Lab Publications

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2013

Modi, A.C., Zeller, M.H., Xanthakos, S.A. Jenkins, T.M., & Inge, T.H. Adherence to vitamin supplementation following adolescent bariatric surgery, Obesity. In Press. PMCID: NIHMSID # 407006.
Wu, Yelena, Reiter-Purtill, J. & Zeller, M.H. The role of social support for promoting quality of life among persistently obese adolescents: Importance of support in schools. Journal of School Health. In Press.
Cushing, C.C., Bishop-Gilyard, C.T., Boles, R.E., Reiter-Purtill, J. & Zeller, M.H. Caregiver concern in adolescents with persistent obesity: The importance of quality of life assessment. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. In Press.
Zeller, M.H., Reiter-Purtill, J., Jenkins, T.M. & Ratcliff, M.B. Adolescent suicidal behavior across the excess weight status spectrum. Obesity. In Press.

2012

Ratcliff, M.B.,Eshleman, K. E.,Reiter-Purtill, J., Noll, J., & Zeller, M.H Prospective Changes in Body Image Dissatisfaction among Adolescent Bariatric Patients: The Importance of Body Size Estimation. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases(SOARD), 8, 470-5. 2012.

2011

Piazza-Waggoner, C., Modi, A.C., Ingerski, L.M., Wu, Y, & Zeller, M.H. Distress at the dinner table? Observed mealtime interactions among treatment-seeking families of obese children. Childhood Obesity, 7(5): 385-91. 2011.
Zeller, M.H., Reiter-Purtill. J., Ratcliff, M., Inge, T.H, & Noll. J. Two-year trends in psychosocial functioning after adolescent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 7(6):727-732. 2011. PMID:21497142.
Ratcliff, MB, Jenkins, TM, Reiter-Purtill, J, Noll, JG, & Zeller, M.H. Risk-taking behaviors of adolescents with extreme obesity: Normative or Not?Pediatrics; 127(5):827-34. 2011. PMCID: PMC3081184.
Jenkins, T.M, Xanthakos, S.A., Zeller, M.H., Barnett, S. J. & Inge, T.H. Distance to clinic and follow-up visit compliance in an adolescent gastric bypass cohort.Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 7(5): 611-617. 2011. PMID: 21511537.
Herzer, M., Zeller, M.H., Rausch, J.R., & Modi, A.C. Perceived social support and its association with obesity-specific health-related quality of life. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 32(3):188-195. 2011. PMID:21263350 PMCID: PMC3480181.
Zeller, M.H., Guilfoyle, S.M., Reiter-Purtill, J., Ratcliff, M.B., Inge, T.H., & Long, J.L. Adolescent bariatric surgery: Caregiver and family functioning across the first post-operative year.Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 7(2):145-50. 2011. PMID: 20869329.
Ratcliff, M.B., Reiter-Purtill, J., Inge, T.H., & Zeller, M.H. Changes in depressive symptoms among adolescent bariatric candidates from preoperative psychological evaluation to immediately before surgery. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 7(1):50-4. 2011. PMID: 20678968.
Modi,A.C. & Zeller, M.H.The IWQOL-Kids^©: Establishing minimal clinically important difference scores and test-retest reliability. International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, 6(2-2): e94-6.2011.PMID: 2088310 PMCID: PMC3480077.
Ratcliff, M.B., Reiter-Purtill, J., Bishop-Gilyard, C., & Zeller, M.H. Racial differences in obese youths’ perception of healthcare and weight loss. Clinical Pediatrics, 50(1):14-16. 2011. PMID: 20724337.

2010

Zeller, M.H., Ingerski, L.M., Wilson, L., & Modi, A.C. Factors contributing to weight-misperception in obese children presenting for intervention. Clinical Pediatrics, 49(4): 330-336. 2010. PMID:20075030.
Reiter-Purtill, J., Ridel, S., Jordan, R. & Zeller, M.H.The benefits of reciprocated friendships for treatment seeking obese youth. Journal of Pediatric Psychology; 35(8): 905-914. 2010. PMCID: PMC2924121.
Herzer, M., Godiwala, N., Hommel, K.A., Driscoll, K., Mitchell, M., Crosby, L., Piazza-Waggoner, C., Zeller, M.H. & Modi, A.C. Family functioning in the context of pediatric chronic conditions. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 31(1):26-34. 2010. PMCID: PMC2821736.
Guilfoyle, S.M., Zeller, M.H., & Modi, A.C. Parenting stress impacts obesity-specific health-related quality of life in a pediatric obesity treatment-seeking sample. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 31(1):17-25. 2010. PMCID: PMC2821720.
Ingerski, L.M., Modi, A.C., Hood, K.K., Pai, A.L., Zeller, M.H., Piazza-Waggoner, C., Driscoll, K.A., Rothenberg, M.E., Franciosi, J., & Hommel, K. Health-related quality of life across pediatric chronic conditions. Journal of Pediatrics, 156(4): 639-44. 2010. PMCID: PMC3115583.

2009

Inge, T.H., Jenkins, T., Zeller, M.H., Dolan, L., Daniels, S.R., Garcia, V.F., Brandt, M.L., Bean, J., Gamm, K., & Xanthoskos, S.A. Baseline BMI is a strong predictor of nadir BMI after adolescent gastric bypass. Journal of Pediatrics, 156(1):103-108e1. 2009. PMCID: PMC2886665.
Zeller, M.H. & Modi, A.C. Development and initial validation of an obesity-specific quality of life measure for children: Sizing Me Up. Obesity, 17: 1171-1177. 2009. NIHMSID: NIHMS109483. PMID:19265795.
Zeller, M.H., Modi, A.C., Noll, J.G., Long, J.D., & Inge, T.H. Psychosocial functioning improves following adolescent bariatric surgery. Obesity, 17(5): 985-990. 2009. NIHMSID: NIHMS108875. PMCID: PMC2713017.
Woo, J.G., Zeller, M.H., Wilson, M.S., & Inge, T.H. Obesity identified by discharge ICD-9 Codes underestimates the true prevalence of obesity in hospitalized children. Journal of Pediatrics, 154(3): 327-331. 2009. PMID:18950792.
Vannatta, K., Gartstein, M.A., Zeller, M.H., & Noll, R.B. Peer acceptance and social behavior during childhood and adolescence: How important are appearance, athleticism, and academic competence?International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33: 303-311. 2009.
Modi, A.C., Guilfoyle, S.M. & Zeller, M.H.Impaired health-related quality of life in caregivers of youth seeking obesity treatment. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 34(2): 147-155. 2009. PMCID: PMC2644552.

2008

Modi, A.C. & Zeller, M.H. Validation of a parent-proxy, obesity-specific quality of life measure: Sizing Them Up. Obesity, 16(12):2624-2633. 2008. NIHMSID: NIHMS108885. PMID:18833211.
Zeller, M.H., Boles, R.E., & Reiter-Purtill, J. The additive and interactive effects of parenting style and temperament in obese youth seeking treatment. International Journal of Obesity, 32(10), 1474–1480. 2008. NIHMSID: NIHMS108926. PMID:18698318.
Modi, A.C., Loux, T., Bell, S., Harmon, C.M., Inge, T.H., & Zeller, M.H. Weight-specific health-related quality of life in adolescents with extreme obesity. Obesity, 16(10): 2266 – 2271. 2008. NIHMSID: NIHMS108931. PMCID: PMC2713008.
Zeller, M.H., Reiter-Purtill, J., & Ramey, C. Negative peer perceptions of obese children in the classroom environment. Obesity, 16(4):755-762. 2008. NIHMS107392. PMCID: PMC2713023.

Other Significant Publications

Inge, T.H., Zeller, M.H., Harmon, C., Helmrath, M., Bean, J., Modi, A.C., Horlick, M., Kalra, M., Xanthakos, S., Miller, R., Akers, R., & Courcoulas, A. Teen-longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery: Methodological features of the first prospective multicenter study of adolescent bariatric surgery. Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 42(11):1969-1971. 2007. PMCID: PMC2293292.
Roehrig, H.R., Xanthakos, S.A., Sweeney, J., Zeller, M.H., & Inge, T.H. Pregnancy after gastric bypass surgery in adolescents. Obesity Surgery, 17(7): 873-877. 2007. PMID:17894144.
Inge, T.H., Pfluger, P., Zeller, M.H., Rose, S.L., Burget, L., Sundararajan, S., Daniels, S.R. & Tschöp, M.H. Gastric bypass surgery for treatment of hypothalamic obesity after craniopharyngioma therapy. Nature Clinical Practice, Endocrinology/Metabolism, 3(8):606-609. 2007. PMID:17643131.
Noll, J.G., Zeller, M.H., Trickett, P.K., & Putnam, F.W. Obesity risk for female victims of childhood sexual abuse: A prospective study. Pediatrics, 120(1), e6-17. PMID:17606550. 2007.
Zeller, M.H., Reiter-Purtill, J., Modi, A.C., Gutzwiller, J., Vannatta, K. & Davies, W.H. Controlled study of critical parent and family factors in the obesogenic environment. Obesity, 15(1):126-136. 2007.
Beebe, D.W., Lewin, D., Zeller, M.H., McCabe, M., MacLeod, K., Daniels, S.R., & Amin, R. Sleep in overweight adolescents: Shorter sleep, poorer sleep quality, sleepiness, and sleep disordered breathing. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 32:69-79. 2007.
Kolotkin, R.L., Zeller, M.H., Modi, A.C., Samsa, G.P., Quinlan, N.P., Yanovski, J.A., Bell, S.K., Maahs, D.M., de Serna, D.G.. & Roehrig, H.R. Assessing weight-related quality of life in adolescents. Obesity, 14(3):448-457. 2006.
Zeller, M.H., Roehrig, H.R., Modi, A.C., Daniels, S.R., & Inge, T.H. Health-related quality of life and depressive symptoms in adolescents with extreme obesity presenting for bariatric surgery. Pediatrics, 117(4):1155-61. 2006.
Zeller, M.H. & Modi, A.C. Predictors of health-related quality of life in obese youth. Obesity, 14(1):122-130. 2006.
Kahn, J.A., Degen, S.J.F., Mansour, M.E, Goodman, E., Zeller, M.H., Laor, T., Lanphear, N.E., & Boat, T.F. Pediatric faculty members’ attitudes about part-time faculty positions and policies to support part-time faculty: A study at one medical center. Academic Medicine, 80(10):931-9. 2005.
Inge, T.H., Zeller, M.H., Lawson, M.L. & Daniels, S. A critical appraisal of evidence supporting a bariatric surgical approach to weight management for adolescents. Journal of Pediatrics, 147(1):10-19. 2005.
irk, S., Zeller, M.H., Claytor, R., Santangelo, M., Khoury, P. & Daniels, S. The relationship of health outcomes to improvement in BMI in children and adolescents. Obesity, 13(5):876-882. 2005.
Zeller, M.H., Saelens, B, Roehrig, H., Kirk, S. & Daniels, S. Psychological adjustment of obese youth presenting for weight management treatment. Obesity Research, 12(10):1576-1586. 2004.
Inge, T.H., Zeller, M.H., Garcia, V., & Daniels, S. Surgical approach to adolescent obesity. Adolescent Medicine Clinics: Surgical Issues in Adolescents, 15(3):429-453. 2004.
Zeller, M.H., Kirk, S., Claytor, R., Khoury, P., Grieme, J., Santangelo, M. & Daniels, S. Predictors of attrition from a pediatric weight management program. Journal of Pediatrics, 144(4):466-470. 2004.
Inge, T.H., Garcia, V. Daniels, S., Langford, L., Kirk, S., Roehrig, H., Amin, R., Zeller, M.H. & Higa, K. A multidisciplinary approach to the adolescent bariatric surgical patient. Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 39(3):442-447. 2004.
Cote, M.P., Byczkowski, T., Kotagal, U., Kirk, S. Zeller, M.H., & Daniels, S. Service quality and attrition: An examination of a pediatric obesity program. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 16(2):165-173. 2004.
Powers, S., Byars, K., Mitchell, M., Patton, S., Schindler, T. & Zeller M.H.A randomized pilot study of behavioral treatment to increase calorie intake in toddlers with cystic fibrosis. Children’s Health Care, 32, 297-311. 2003.
Zeller, M.H., Vannatta, K., Schafer, J. & Noll, R.B. Behavioral reputation: A cross-age perspective. Developmental Psychology, 39(1):129-139. 2003.
Gerhardt, C.A., Vannatta, K., McKellop, J.M., Zeller, M.H., Taylor, J., Passo, M. & Noll, R.B. Comparing parental distress, family functioning, and the role of social support for caregivers with and without a child with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 28(1):5-15. 2003.
Gerhardt, C.A., Vannatta, K., McKellop, J.M., Taylor, J., Passo, M., Reiter-Purtill, J., Zeller, M.H., & Noll, R.B. Brief report: Child-rearing practices of caregivers with and without a child with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: Perspectives of caregivers and professionals. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 28(4):275-279. 2003.
Vannatta, K., Zeller, M.H., Noll, R.B., & Koontz, K. Social functioning of children surviving bone marrow transplantation. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 23(3):169-178. 1998.
Noll, R.B., Zeller, M.H., Vannatta, K., Bukowski, W., & Davies, H. Potential bias in classroom research: Comparison of children with permission and those who do not receive permission to participate. Journal of Child Clinical Psychology, 26(1):36-42. 1997.

Contact Us

Meg H. Zeller, PhD

Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology
3333 Burnet Ave.
MLC 3015
Cincinnati, OH 45229

Phone: 513-636-2712
Meg.Zeller@cchmc.org

3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3026 | 1-513-636-4200 | 1-800-344-2462 | TTY:1-513-636-4900

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