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Sarah Commisso Armstrong

Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics, General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health
Box 3675 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
3116 N Duke Street, Durham, NC 27704
Office hours Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm  

Overview


Dr. Armstrong's clinical and research interests include pediatric nutrition and the treatment of childhood and adolescent obesity, along with related health problems. As director of the Duke Children's Healthy Lifestyles Program, Dr. Armstrong oversees a cohort of over 3000 overweight children and teenagers. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Obesity.  Dr. Armstrong's research focuses on leveraging innovative strategies to improve children's nutrition and activity, including mobile health interventions, community partnerships, and medication or surgical approaches.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Pediatrics · 2021 - Present Pediatrics, General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, Pediatrics
Chief, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health · 2021 - Present Pediatrics, General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, Pediatrics
Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health · 2020 - Present Family Medicine and Community Health, Community Health, Family Medicine and Community Health
Professor in Population Health Sciences · 2020 - Present Population Health Sciences, Basic Science Departments
Affiliate, Duke Global Health Institute · 2016 - Present Duke Global Health Institute, University Institutes and Centers
Member in the Duke Clinical Research Institute · 2017 - Present Duke Clinical Research Institute, Institutes and Centers
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 2025 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published February 11, 2025
Parks & Rec Tackles Childhood Obesity
Published March 28, 2023
The Case of the Mysterious $11 Million Benefactor
Published June 17, 2021
Is Health in Durham Connected to Access to Local Parks?

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Recent Publications


Using Parks and Recreation Providers to Enhance Obesity Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Journal Article Pediatrics · February 10, 2025 OBJECTIVE: Intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment (IHBLT) is recommended for children aged 6-18 years with obesity. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of Fit Together, a health care and parks and recreation partnership to deliver IH ... Full text Link to item Cite

Grocery intervention and DNA-based assessment to improve diet quality in pediatric obesity: a pilot randomized controlled study.

Journal Article Obesity (Silver Spring) · February 2025 OBJECTIVE: We assessed the impact of a food-provisioning intervention on diet quality in children with obesity. METHODS: Participants (n = 33, aged 6-11 years) were randomly assigned to either usual care (intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment) ... Full text Link to item Cite

Increased BMI Velocity is Associated with Elevated Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Scores in Adolescents with Obesity.

Journal Article Child Obes · December 10, 2024 Existing studies that have demonstrated a positive association between obesity and depression have been among adults, did not utilize the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), or were conducted in a homogenous patient population. In this retrospective longit ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Supporting Safe and Effective GLP-1 Prescribing in Pediatric Primary Care

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by American Heart Association · 2025 - 2028

Assessing the cost-effectiveness of a clinical-community pediatric obesity intervention on cardiovascular health

ResearchCo-Mentor · Awarded by American Heart Association · 2025 - 2028

Using DNA sequencing to assess dietary species richness

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2022 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Virginia · 2000 M.D.