Deborah Cohen

Dr. Deborah Cohen (MD, MPH) is a Research Scientist who studies how environmental factors influence the health of communities. She has led multiple studies and developed the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) a validated method to assess park use and park-based physical activity.

She worked with CPA to conduct the National Study of Neighborhood Parks which assessed 174 parks in 25 US cities. She also conducted a study comparing innovative playgrounds to traditional post-and-platform playground and one on the impact of Park Prescriptions on physical activity in youth.

Dr. Cohen also works on studies to improve the food environment. She is author of A Big Fat Crisis: The Hidden Influences Behind the Obesity Epidemic—and How We Can End It and co-author of Prescription for a Healthy Nation: A New Approach to Improving Our Lives by Fixing Our Everyday Worlds.