Lance Davidson

Biography

Lance E. Davidson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Exercise Sciences at Brigham Young University. He teaches classes in Exercise Physiology and Exercise Prescription. As an obesity researcher and exercise physiologist, his research interests include investigating the health benefits of obesity reduction, specifically the long term effects of bariatric surgery in severely obese individuals, and determining optimal exercise prescriptions for improving metabolic health and physical performance in aging and obese individuals.

Dr. Davidson received bachelor and master degrees in physical education and exercise sciences from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He obtained his doctorate in exercise physiology from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, where he conducted several randomized controlled exercise intervention trials assessing the effects of exercise on insulin resistance and physical function in middle-to-older aged individuals with diabetes and abdominal obesity. He received further training in NIH-funded post-doctoral fellowships at the New York Obesity Research Center, Columbia University, New York, and at the Division of Cardiovascular Genetics, University of Utah, where he was appointed as a Research Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine.

He has been awarded several faculty development awards, including a Translational Comparative Effectiveness Research (TCER) Scholarship and a research career development (K12) award from the University of Utah’s NIH-funded Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), through which he earned an additional Master of Science degree in Clinical Investigations. His current research focus is on acute and long-term effects of bariatric surgery on body composition and metabolic health in severe obesity, including work on several large longitudinal cohort studies such as the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgeries 2 (LABS-2) Trial and the Utah Obesity Study. He is the principal investigator on an NIH/NIDDK-funded grant (R21) investigating long-term bone fracture rates in gastric bypass surgery patients and severely obese controls in collaboration with investigators from the University of Utah, Intermountain Healthcare, and the Utah Population Database. He and his BYU students are also researching the efficacy of several resistance exercise modalities for improving muscle strength and function during rapid weight loss after bariatric surgery. Dr. Davidson is an active member of The Obesity Society.

Teaching Interests

Exercise physiology
Exercise Prescription
Obesity & Weight Management

Research Interests

Obesity Cormorbidities
Long-Term Bariatric Surgery Outcomes
Assessment of Fitness/Body Composition/Metabolism
Exercise Interventions for Obesity and Chronic Disease

Education

Master of Science, Clinical Investigation, University of Utah School of Medicine, 2013
Master of Science, Exercise Science, Brigham Young University, 2002
Bachelor of Science, Physical Education, Brigham Young University, 2000

Experience

Academic - Post-Secondary

Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Utah, 2013-Present
Research Assistant Professor, University of Utah, 2011-2013
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Utah, 2010-2011
Visiting Assistant Professor, Brigham Young University, 2007-2008

Other

Post-doctoral fellow, University of Utah, 2009-2010
Post-doctoral fellow, Columbia University, 2008-2009

Memberships

The Obesity Society (TOS), 2001-Present
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), 1999-Present
Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS), 2010-2016
Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), 2002-2009

Courses Taught

Winter 2019

EXSC 463: Exercise Physiology Section 001
EXSC 480: Obesity & Weight Management Section 001
EXSC 497R: Undergrad Research & Study Section 004
EXSC 699R: Master's Thesis Section 002
STAC 146: Racquetball, Beginning Section 009

Fall 2018

EXSC 463: Exercise Physiology Section 001
EXSC 480: Obesity & Weight Management Section 001
EXSC 497R: Undergrad Research & Study Section 005
STAC 147: Racquetball, Intermediate Section 006

Spring 2018

EXSC 699R: Master's Thesis Section 003

Winter 2018

EXSC 463: Exercise Physiology Section 002
EXSC 468: Problems in Exercise Prsrptn Section 001
EXSC 497R: Undergrad Research & Study Section 006
EXSC 699R: Master's Thesis Section 005
STAC 146: Racquetball, Beginning Section 009

Publications

Journal Articles

Davidson LE, Hunt SC, Adams TD. 2018. Fitness versus adiposity in cardiovascular disease risk. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Masterson TD, Kirwan CB, Davidson LE, Larson MJ, Keller KL, Fearnbach SN, Evans A, LeCheminant JD. 2018. Brain reactivity to visual food stimuli after moderate-intensity exercise in children. Brain Imaging and Behavior. 12:1032-1041.

Davidson LE, Yu W, Goodpaster BH, DeLany JP, Widen E, Lemos T, Strain GW, Pomp A, Courcoulas AP, Lin S, et al. 2018. Fat-Free Mass and Skeletal Muscle Mass Five Years After Bariatric Surgery. Obesity (Silver Spring). 26(7):1130-1136.

Kolotkin RL, Kim J, Davidson LE, Crosby RD, Hunt SC, Adams TD. 2018. 12-year trajectory of health-related quality of life in gastric bypass patients versus comparison groups. Surgery for Obesity and Related Disorders.

Adams TD, Davidson LE, Hunt SC. 2018. Weight and metabolic outcomes 12 years after gastric bypass: correspondence. N Engl J Med. 378(1):93-96.

Adams TD, Davidson LE, Litwin SE, Kim J, Kolotkin RL, Nanjee MN, Gutierrez JM, Frogley SJ, Ibele AR, Brinton EA, et al. 2017. Weight and metabolic outcomes 12 years after gastric bypass. N Engl J Med. 377(12):1143-1155.

Daniels P, Burns RD, Brusseau TA, Hall MS, Davidson LE, Adams TD, Eisenmann P. 2017. Effect of a randomised 12-week resistance training programme on muscular strength, cross-sectional area and muscle quality in women having undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Journal of Sport Sciences. 36(5):529-535.

Hopkins JL, Hopkins PN, Brinton EA, Adams TD, Davidson LE, Nanjee MN, Hunt SC. 2017. Expression of metabolic syndrome in women with severe obesity. Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. 15(6):283-290.

Ko G, Davidson LE, Brennan AM, Lam M, Ross R. 2016. Abdominal adiposity, not cardiorespiratory fitness, mediates the exercise-induced change in insulin sensitivity in older adults. PLoS One. 11(12):e0167734.

Masterson T, Kirwan CB, Davidson LE, LeCheminant JD. 2016. Neural reactivity to visual food stimuli is reduced in some areas of the brain during evening hours compared to morning: an fMRI study in women. Brain Imaging and Behavior. 10(1):68-78.

Davidson LE, Adams TD, Kim J, Jones JL, Hashibe M, Taylor D, Mehta T, McKinlay R, Simper SC, Smith SC, et al. 2016. Association of Patient Age at Gastric Bypass Surgery With Long-term All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality. JAMA Surg. 151(7).

Lin WY, Peng CY, Lin CC, Davidson LE, Pi-Sunyer FX, Sung PK, Huang KC. 2016. General and abdominal adiposity and risk of death in HBV versus non-HBV carriers: a 10-year population-based cohort study. Medicine. 95(2):e2162.

Adams TD, Mehta TS, Davidson LE, Hunt SC. 2015. All-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with bariatric surgery: a review. Current atherosclerosis reports. 17(12):74.

Adams TD, Hammoud AO, Davidson LE, Laferrère B, Fraser A, Stanford JB, Hashibe M, Greenwood JL, Kim J, Taylor D, et al. 2015. Maternal and neonatal outcomes for pregnancies before and after gastric bypass surgery. International journal of obesity (2005). 39(4):686-94.

Ouellette KA, Brusseau TA, Davidson LE, Ford C, Hatfield DL, Shaw JM, Eisenman PA. 2015. Comparison of the effects of seated, supine and walking inter-set rest strategies upon work rate. Journal of strength and conditioning research.

Chao MC, Hu SL, Hsu HS, Davidson LE, Lin CH, Li CI, Liu CS, Li TC, Lin CC, Lin WY. 2014. Serum homocysteine level is positively associated with chronic kidney disease in a Taiwan Chinese population. J Nephrol. 27(3):299-305.

Davidson LE, Kelley DE, Heshka S, Thornton J, Pi-Sunyer FX, Boxt L, Balasubramanyam A, Gallagher D. 2014. Skeletal muscle and organ masses differ in overweight adults with type 2 diabetes. J Appl Physiol (1985). 117(4):377-82.

Priester T, Ault TG, Davidson LE, Gress R, Adams TD, Hunt SC, Litwin SE. 2014. Coronary calcium scores 6 years after bariatric surgery. Obesity Surgery. 90-6.

Lin WY, Chiu TY, Ho CT, Davidson LE, Hsu HS, Liu CS, Chiu CF, Peng CT, Chen CY, Hu WY, et al. 2014. Hospice shared-care saved medical expenditure and reduced the likelihood of intensive medical utilization among advanced cancer patients in Taiwan–a nationwide survey. Support Care Cancer. 22(7):1907-14.

Yu YT, Ho CT, Hsu HS, Li CI, Davidson LE, Liu CS, Li TC, Shih CM, Lin CC, Lin WY. 2013. Subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with elevated high-sensitive C-reactive protein among adult Taiwanese. Endocrine. 44(3):716-22.

Adams TD, Davidson LE, Litwin SE, Hunt SC. 2012. Gastrointestinal surgery: cardiovascular risk reduction and improved long-term survival in patients with obesity and diabetes. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 14(6):606-15.

Lin WY, Pi-Sunyer FX, Liu CS, Li CI, Davidson LE, Li TC, Lin CC. 2012. Central obesity and albuminuria: both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in Chinese. PLoS One. 7(12):e47960.

Kolotkin RL, Davidson LE, Crosby RD, Hunt SC, Adams TD. 2012. Six-year changes in health-related quality of life in gastric bypass patients versus obese comparison groups. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 8(5):625-33.

Hu SL, Liu CS, Lin CH, Davidson LE, Li CI, Lin CC, Li TC, Lin WY. 2012. Uric Acid and mortality in elderly chinese: a 10-year population-based cohort study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 60(9):1783-5.

Adams TD, Davidson LE, Litwin SE, Kolotkin RL, LaMonte MJ, Pendleton RC, Strong MB, Vinik R, Wanner NA, Hopkins PN, et al. 2012. Health benefits of gastric bypass surgery after 6 years. JAMA. 308(11):1122-31.

Hunt SC, Hasstedt SJ, Xin Y, Dalley BK, Milash BA, Yakobson E, Gress RE, Davidson LE, Adams TD. 2011. Polymorphisms in the NPY2R gene show significant associations with BMI that are additive to FTO, MC4R, and NPFFR2 gene effects. Obesity (Silver Spring). 19(11):2241-7.

Bouchard DR, McGuire KA, Davidson LE, Ross R. 2011. Cardiorespiratory fitness, obesity, and functional limitation in older adults. J Aging Phys Act. 19(4):336-46.

Ho CT, Lin CC, Hsu HS, Liu CS, Davidson LE, Li TC, Li CI, Lin WY. 2011. Arterial stiffness is strongly associated with insulin resistance in Chinese–a population-based study (Taichung Community Health Study, TCHS). J Atheroscler Thromb. 18(2):122-30.

Kolotkin RL, LaMonte MJ, Walker JM, Cloward TV, Davidson LE, Crosby RD. 2011. Predicting sleep apnea in bariatric surgery patients. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 7(5):605-10.

Lin WY, Pi-Sunyer FX, Chen CC, Davidson LE, Liu CS, Li TC, Wu MF, Li CI, Chen W, Lin CC. 2011. Coffee consumption is inversely associated with type 2 diabetes in Chinese. Eur J Clin Invest. 41(6):659-66.

Davidson LE, Wang J, Thornton JC, Kaleem Z, Silva-Palacios F, Pierson RN, Heymsfield SB, Gallagher D. 2011. Predicting fat percent by skinfolds in racial groups: Durnin and Womersley revisited. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 43(3):542-9.

Liu CS, Pi-Sunyer FX, Li CI, Davidson LE, Li TC, Chen W, Lin CC, Huang CY, Lin WY. 2010. Albuminuria is strongly associated with arterial stiffness, especially in diabetic or hypertensive subjects-A population-based study (Taichung Community Health Study, TCHS). Atherosclerosis. 211(1):315-21.

Davidson LE, Tucker LA, Peterson T. 2010. Physical activity changes predict abdominal fat change in midlife women. J Phys Act Health. 7(3):316-22.

Javed F, He Q, Davidson LE, Thornton JC, Albu J, Boxt L, Krasnow N, Elia M, Kang P, Heshka S, et al. 2010. Brain and high metabolic rate organ mass: contributions to resting energy expenditure beyond fat-free mass. Am J Clin Nutr. 91(4):907-12.

Kuk JL, Saunders TJ, Davidson LE, Ross R. 2009. Age-related changes in total and regional fat distribution. Ageing Res Rev. 8(4):339-48.

Saunders TJ, Davidson LE, Janiszewski PM, Despres JP, Hudson R, Ross R. 2009. Associations of the limb fat to trunk fat ratio with markers of cardiometabolic risk in elderly men and women. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 64(10):1066-70.

Lin WY, Chiu TY, Hsu HS, Davidson LE, Lin T, Cheng KC, Chiu CF, Li CI, Chiu YW, Lin CC, et al. 2009. Medical expenditure and family satisfaction between hospice and general care in terminal cancer patients in Taiwan. J Formos Med Assoc. 108(10):794-802.

Davidson LE. 2009. Should doctors recommend a specific exercise program for elderly patients?. Aging Health. 5(3):263-264.

Davidson LE, Hudson R, Kilpatrick K, Kuk JL, McMillan K, Janiszewski PM, Lee S, Lam M, Ross R. 2009. Effects of exercise modality on insulin resistance and functional limitation in older adults: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 169(2):122-31.

Kuk JL, Kilpatrick K, Davidson LE, Hudson R, Ross R. 2008. Whole-body skeletal muscle mass is not related to glucose tolerance or insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese men and women. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 33(4):769-74.

Kuk JL, Davidson LE, Hudson R, Kilpatrick K, Bacskai K, Ross R. 2008. Association between dietary fat intake, liver fat, and insulin sensitivity in sedentary, abdominally obese, older men. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 33(2):239-45.

Davidson LE, Kuk JL, Church TS, Ross R. 2006. Protocol for measurement of liver fat by computed tomography. J Appl Physiol. 100(3):864-8.

Lee S, Kuk JL, Davidson LE, Hudson R, Kilpatrick K, Graham TE, Ross R. 2005. Exercise without weight loss is an effective strategy for obesity reduction in obese individuals with and without Type 2 diabetes. J Appl Physiol. 99(3):1220-5.

Presentations

Mabey JG, Davidson LE, Pace BK, Brusseau TA, Ouellette KA. Acute Changes in Physical Activity Post-Bariatric Surgery. Obesity Week 2018. Nashville, TN. 2018.

Braathen DL, Davidson LE, LeCheminant JD, Adams TD, Hunt SC. Does Fat Free Mass Improve Prediction of Resting Energy Expenditure in Adults with Severe Obesity?. Obesity Week 2018. Nashville, TN. 2018.

Davidson LE, Adams TD, Simper S, McKinlay R, Hunt SC. Resting Energy Expenditure Reflects Fat and Fat-free Mass Changes 11 Years after Gastric Bypass. Obesity Week 2018. Nashville, TN. 2018.

Hyldahl RD, Gifford JR, Parcell AC, Hancock CR, Davidson LE, Mack GW. Physiological assessment of a 16-day, 4,385 km ultra-endurance mountain bike race: a case study. SWACSM. Costa Mesa, CA. 2018.

McKinlay R, Kim J, Davidson LE, Simper S, Adams TD, Hunt SC. Association of metabolic syndrome prior to gastric bypass surgery and long-term weight loss outcomes: the Utah Obesity Study. Obesity Week 2017. Washington DC. 2017.

Davidson LE. Changes in fat and fat free mass a decade after gastric bypass. Obesity Week 2017. Washington DC. 2017.

Davidson LE, Yu W, Goodpaster B, Delany JP, Strain GW, Pomp A, Courcoulas A, Lin S, Janumala I, Thornton JC, et al. Fat-free mass and skeletal muscle in women from one to 5 years after bariatric surgery. Obesity Week 2017. Washington DC. 2017.

Davidson LE. Resting metabolic rate and cardiorespiratory fitness after gastric bypass. 22nd World Congress. London, UK. 2017.