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
Prenatal Calories More Important than Alcohol Exposure in Obesity
July 31, 2018 – Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) impairs fetal neurodevelopment and ultimately causes fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). PAE has also been associated with low birthweight and a higher risk for development of childhood obesity and metabolic dysfunction including glucose intolerance and cardiovascular disease.
Offspring Brain Health Determined by Maternal Diet and Genes
December 12, 2018 – The importance of choline to brain development and function was first demonstrated in the 1980s, but because choline has multiple fates and functions within the body, the question of how choline levels specifically impacted neural development has remained unanswered. In research just published in The FASEB Journal, NRI director Steven Zeisel, MD PhD, and NRI assistant professor Natalia Surzenko, PhD, make a major contribution towards answering this question.
Your doctor may not be the best source of nutrition advice
This article was published originally by The Washington Post. By Rachel Cernansky When Americans hear about a health craze, they may turn to their physician for advice: Will that superfood really...
Eggs May Enhance Infant Brain Development, Researchers Find
June 29, 2018 – Early introduction of eggs boosts infant blood concentrations of several key indicators of brain development, a recent study in Ecuador found. The results could have implications for infant nutrition in both the developing and developed worlds.
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.