Rob van Dam

Dr. van Dam conducts research into the role of diet in the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases with a particular interest in Asian diets. His research is based on large-scale cohort studies, dietary intervention studies, and systematic reviews. For example, he has applied these methods to the identification of an inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes, confirmation of this finding in various populations, and the study of potential underlying mechanisms. Current research concerns the integration of data on dietary, biochemical, and genetic characteristics to study the etiology of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. He is also interested in the link between behavioral determinants, dietary habits, and the development of obesity.

Dietary patterns and dietary components in relation to risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

This research is focused on dietary patterns, foods, and specific dietary components using both reported intakes and biomarkers. Dr. van Dam is the principal investigator of a study on dietary polyphenols, urinary biomarkers, and risk of type 2 diabetes in the Nurses' Health Studies (NIDDK R01). He is particularly interested in the role of Asian diets in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases because the variation in foods and food components is markedly different from more widely studied American and European populations. He conducts research in Asian populations using the Singapore Chinese Health Study and the Singapore Prospective Study 2.

Behavioral and genetic determinants of dietary habits and the development of obesity

Genetic studies of determinants of dietary habits include genome-wide association studies of caffeine intake, taste-based food preferences, and eating styles. Dr. van Dam is also interested in the behavioral determinants (e.g. cultural factors, neighborhood environment) of dietary habits and the development of obesity. This research is part of the National University of Singapore Global Asia Institute project for the prevention of type 2 diabetes that is a collaboration with HSPH. The goal of these research projects is a more complete understanding of determinants of eating habits to develop effective interventions for the prevention of obesity.   

Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore

Associate Editor, Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 

Member of the Editorial Board of 'Journal of Obesity' and 'World Journal of Diabetes'

PhD Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Medical School
MSc Wageningen University

Publications in Researcher ID

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS (some with links to full text papers)

Diet and risk of type 2 diabetes

van Dam RM. Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2008;33:1269-83. Review.

Radhika G, van Dam RM, Sudha V, Ganesan A, Mohan V. Refined grain consumption and the metabolic syndrome in urban Asian Indians (Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study 57). Metabolism. 2009;58:675-81.

de Munter JSL, Hu FB, Spiegelman D, Franz M, van Dam RM. Whole grain, bran, and germ intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: a prospective study and systematic review. PLoS Medicine 2007;4:e261. 

van Dam RM, Hu FB. Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes. A systematic review. JAMA 2005;294:1-8. 

van Dam RM, Pasman WJ, Verhoef P. Effects of coffee consumption on fasting blood glucose and insulin concentrations: randomized controlled trials in healthy volunteers. Diabetes Care 2004;27:2990-2. t;

van Dam RM, Feskens EJM. Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Lancet 2002;360:1477-8. 

van Dam RM, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB. Dietary fat and meat intake in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in men. Diabetes Care 2002;25:417-24.

van Dam RM, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB. Dietary patterns and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in U.S. men. Ann Intern Med 2002;136:201-9.

Genetic and biochemical determinants of type 2 diabetes and related disorders 

Li S, Shin HJ, Ding EL, van Dam RM. Adiponectin levels and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2009;302:179-88.

Snijder MB. Lips P, Seidell JC, Visser M, Deeg DJ, Dekker JM, van Dam RM. Vitamin D status and parathyroid levels in relation to blood pressure. A population-based study in older men and women. J Intern Med 2007;261:558-565

van Dam RM, Snijder MB, Dekker JM, Stehouwer CDA, Bouter LM, Heine RJ, Lips P. Potentially modifiable determinants of vitamin D status in an older population in the Netherlands: the Hoorn Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:755-761.

Qi L, van Dam RM, Asselbergs F, Hu FB. Gene-gene interactions between HNF4A and KCNJ11 in predicting type 2 diabetes in women. Diabet Med 2007;24:1187-91.

Qi L, van Dam RM, Meigs JB, Manson JE, Hunter D, Hu FB. Genetic variation in IL6 gene and type 2 diabetes: Tagging-SNP haplotype analysis in large-scale case-control study and meta-analysis. Hum Mol Genet 2006;15:1914-20.

van Dam RM, Hoebee B, Seidell JC, Schaap MM, de Bruin TWA, Feskens EJM. Common variants in the ATP-sensitive K+ channel genes KCNJ11 (Kir6.2) and ABCC8 (SUR1) in relation to glucose intolerance: population-based studies and meta-analyses. Diabet Med 2005;22:590-8.

Determinants and health consequences of obesity

Wedick NM, Snijder MB, Dekker JM, Heine RJ, Stehouwer CD, Nijpels G, van Dam RM. Prospective investigation of metabolic characteristics in relation to weight gain in older adults: the Hoorn Study. Obesity. 2009;17:1609-14.

Wu T, Gao X, Chen M, van Dam RM. Long-term effectiveness of diet-plus-exercise interventions vs. diet-only interventions for weight loss: a meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2009;10:313-23.

van Dam RM, Li T, Spiegelman D, Franco OH, Hu FB. Combined impact of lifestyle factors on mortality: prospective cohort study in U.S. women. BMJ 2008;337:a1440.

van Dam RM, Seidell JC. Carbohydrate intake and obesity. Eur J Clin Nutr 2007;61 Suppl 1:S75-99.

van der Heijden AAWA, Hu FB, Rimm EB, van Dam RM. A prospective study of breakfast consumption and weight gain among U.S. men. Obesity 2007;15;2463-9.

McAdams MA, van Dam RM, Hu FB. Comparison of self-reported and measured BMI as correlates of disease markers in U.S. adults. Obesity 2007;15:188-196. 

van Dam RM, Willett WC, Manson JE, Hu FB. The relationship between overweight in adolescence and premature death in women. Annals of Internal Med 2006;145:91-7. 

Snijder MB, van Dam RM, Visser M, Seidell JC. What aspects of body fat are particularly hazardous and how do we measure them? Int J Epidemiol 2006;35:83-92.

Nicolaou M, van Dam RM, Stronks K. Acculturation and education level in relation to quality of the diet: a study of Surinamese South Asian and Afro-Caribbean residents of the Netherlands. J Hum Nutr Diet 2006;19:383-93. 

van Dam RM, Boer JMA, Feskens EJM, Seidell JC. Parental history of diabetes modifies the association between abdominal adiposity and hyperglycemia. Diabetes Care 2001;24:1454-9.