John.Batsis@unc.edu
919-966-5945
John A. Batsis, MD
CRC Medical Director, Associate Professor of Medicine
Dr. Batsis has dedicated his professional career to caring for older adults through clinical care, research and education. The privilege of helping older adults maximize their physical function and quality of life through patient-centered, compassionate care serves as a daily motivation in his work. His role as a clinician-researcher allows him to apply scientific principles of inquiry to enhance clinical care for an older adult population. Through learning and discovery, he aims to advance healthy aging by improving goal-directed care and healthcare delivery for older adults.
Dr. Batsis’s academic work focuses on three main areas: (a) understanding the relationships between obesity and sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass, strength and/or function with aging) and important outcomes for older adults; (b) developing multicomponent interventions (diet and exercise) to improve physical function in older adults; and (c) using novel technologies (telemedicine, remote monitoring, Internet-of-Things devices) and collaborating with transdisciplinary scientists (engineers and computer scientists) to improve the health and well-being of older adults.
Read: Dr. John Batsis Presents Keynote at AI Technology Center Consensus Guidelines Workshop
Read: Dr. Batsis Presents at American Diabetes Association Annual Meeting
Read: Dr. Batsis talks to Stat about new weight loss drugs
Watch: Dr Batsis – ‘Everyone has their own secret sauce’
Read: Doctors Assess Opportunities Gained, Lost through Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visits
Read: Batsis Discusses Five Common Medications That Can Cause Weight Gain
In the News
Are All Fats Bad?
Following up on the popular Appetite for Life presentation by Cecilia Kwan, PhD, RD, in February, we present the first in a series of articles on popular myths about whether certain foods are good...
February AFL Program Recap: “Food and Nutrition Myths That Never Go Away: Time to Debunk Them”
February 26, 2020 – If you missed February’s Appetite for Life Presentation by Cecilia Kwan, PhD, RD, you can catch up. Click through to this post and watch the entire program on video. The live presentation took place at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in Kannapolis on Thursday, February 19, 2020.
Precision (Personalized) Nutrition: Understanding Metabolic Heterogeneity
February 24, 2020 -People differ in their requirements for and responses to nutrients and bioactive molecules in the diet. Many inputs contribute to metabolic heterogeneity (including variations in genetics, epigenetics, microbiome, lifestyle, diet intake, and environmental exposure).
January AFL Program Recap: “Genes and Individual Response to Nutrients in Bone Health”
January 22, 2020 – If you missed January’s Appetite for Life presentation by Saroja Voruganti, PhD, you can catch up. Click through to this post and watch the entire program on video. The live presentation took place at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in Kannapolis on Thursday, January 16, 2020.
Publications
2026
2025
The Relationship Between a Mediterranean Diet and Frailty in Older Adults: NHANES 2007-2017.
Changes in senescence markers after a weight loss intervention in older adults with obesity.
Editorial: Clinical uses and alternative approaches of frailty determination.
Tailoring Obesity Management to Support Physical Function in Older Adults.
Treating Sarcopenic Obesity in the Era of Incretin Therapies: Perspectives and Challenges.
New Drugs and Same Blind Spots-Rethinking Obesity Care in Later Life.




