Dr. Seth Creasy has worked on the CU Anschutz campus since 2016, when he began his postdoc in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, and he has been a member of the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center’s research team since February 2019. Currently, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, Dr. Creasy applies his background in health education, exercise physiology and endocrinology in his research on topics surrounding physical activity interventions with a focus on weight management. 

In 2019, Dr. Creasy received a coveted National Institutes of Health (NIH) Career Development Award. Through the award, he studied the connection between sleep health and weight loss. His study results found that sleep quantity and quality were associated with dietary adherence, physical activity adherence and weight loss during the 18-month behavioral weight loss intervention. Dr. Creasy is working on potential future studies that will further evaluate the importance of sleep health for weight management.

In one of his current studies, Dr. Creasy utilizes the center’s fitness facility. In the pilot phase of the study, Dr. Creasy and his team explored the best time of day to exercise for weight loss. Working in concert with the center’s fitness staff, study participants exercised four days a week(three days at the Health and Wellness Center) for 15 weeks, with a randomized day of time for exercise. They found that both morning exercisers and evening exercises were able to adhere to the exercise prescription and both groups lost similar amounts of weight and fat mass. These findings led to funding for another NIH grant, led by Dr. Victoria Catenacci, medical director of the CU Medicine Weight Management Center and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes. Over the next four years, 128 people will participate in what is known as the Timed Intervention of Morning vs Evening EXercise(TIMEX) study. The goal of the project is to examine the effect of morning vs. evening aerobic exercise on changes in weight, body composition, energy expenditure, energy intake, and sleep.

Study participation is vital to Dr. Creasy’s work in lifestyle interventions. He stresses the benefits of participation: there is no cost to join and participants gain a wealth of health screening information, such as blood pressure, EKG, DEXA scans and more, plus a free fitness membership to the center. 

Anyone interested in an exercise and healthy lifestyle intervention program is encouraged to see if they qualify for the TIMEX study by completing a pre-screening survey. In addition to TIMEX, the Health and Wellness Center has many other studies currently enrolling participants. Learn more about our current studies at:  https://anschutzwellness.com/participate-in-research