Duke Diet & Fitness Center brings together physicians and other medical providers, registered dietitians, behavioral specialists, health coaches, psychologists, exercise physiologists, and a support staff committed to helping you achieve and maintain your weight-loss goals.

Eisenson, Howard
Endress, Gerald
Politi, Elisabetta
Rydin-Gray, Sofia
Sha, Ronald
Wolever, Ruth Q.

Elisabetta Politi

Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, CDE, is nutrition director at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center. She has dedicated her career to the prevention of chronic diseases through diet and weight management. Elisabetta is also a certified diabetes educator and a past president of the Durham–Chapel Hill chapter of the American Dietetic Association. As the Duke Diet & Fitness Online nutrition expert, she provides information and answers members' questions about food choices and meal planning.

Gerald Endress

Gerald Endress, MS, RCEP, has been the fitness director at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center since 2003. He manages a team of exercise physiologists at the center and helps patients achieve their fitness goals. For the Duke Diet & Fitness Online program, he provides state-of-the-art fitness information and workout plans and responds to questions about all things fitness-related — from warm-ups to cooldowns, and everything in between.

Howard Eisenson, MD

Howard Eisenson, MD, is executive director of the Duke Diet & Fitness Center (DFC), where he oversees the DFC and also works closely with patients in managing their medical conditions.

Sofia Rydin-Gray, PhD

Sofia Rydin-Gray, PhD, is the assistant director of Behavioral Health & Lifestyle Coaching at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center and assistant professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. Sofia uses a cognitive behavioral approach in the assessment and treatment of obesity, binge eating, and associated psychological conditions. In her research, she has studied the immediate and distal triggers of binge eating, food cravings, and the effectiveness of behavioral weight loss interventions. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University and she is a licensed psychologist in the state of North Carolina.

Ronald Sha, MD, PhD

Ronald Sha, MD, PhD, is the DFC's medical director. He oversees the DFC's medical clinic and treats medical problems related to overweight, including diabetes and heart disease.

Ruth Q. Wolever, PhD

Ruth Q. Wolever, PhD, is the director of Behavioral Health & Lifestyle Coaching at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center, as well as director of Health Psychology and Research at Duke Integrative Medicine (Duke IM). As a clinical psychologist with an expertise in behavior change and in mind-body medicine, Ruth studies the integration of innovative, holistic lifestyle treatments into mainstream medicine, particularly for chronic diseases including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. She has been funded by NIH, GSK, Duke Center for Personalized Medicine, and several philanthropic organizations. Her career also includes an ongoing focus on the development of the role of health coaching in creating significant lifestyle change. Her NIH-funded research focuses on the use of mindfulness meditation techniques to improve eating behavior, weight management, and psychosocial distress.