PD Dr. Antje Hebestreit

Dr. Antje Hebestreit is head of the Unit Behavior and Health at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS, Department Epidemiological Methods and Etiological Research. From 2006 Dr. Hebestreit served as a nutritional epidemiologist and coordinator of the German branch of the largest pan-European intervention study on diet- and lifestyle-related disorders in children (www.ideficsstudy.eu; 2006-2012) and was a member of the steering committee of the subsequent cohort study involving these children and their families (2012-2017) and it's latest followup (2021). Dr. Hebestreit was steering group member of the JPI-HDHL DEDIPAC (2013-2016) and of the JPI-HDHL Policy Evaluation Network (2018-2021). From 2022 to 2025, she was co-project leader of the JPI HDHL project 'Wearable sensors for sensing physical activity and dietary behaviors' (WEALTH). She was involved in the Cost Action DE-PASS (Determinants of Physical Activity in Different Environments) and the MSC Action INDEEP (Interventions on Determinants and Expertise in Physical Activity, 2024–2027).

In 2021 she qualified as professor for Public Health at the University Bremen. From 2000-2001 she conducted the main part of the research for her PhD in the Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. After her PhD in 2004, Dr. Hebestreit worked as postdoctoral research fellow for the Harvard University, Department of Nutrition. During this time Dr. Hebestreit also worked as a consultant for the UN World Food Programme in Guinea-Bissau.
Over the years, her work has focused on studying the role of dietary intake, dietary behaviour, and their determinants in association with non-communicable diseases, in particular childhood obesity.

  • Development, application and evaluation of instruments for assessing dietary intake, dietary behaviour, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and their determinants
  • Design and implementation of small and large scale epidemiological studies for investigating lifestyle-related diseases in special populations, such as children
  • Investigation of risk factors for obesity, metabolic health and musculoskeletal health in high and low income countries

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ORCiD: 0000-0001-7354-5958

Selected BIPS-Publications

  • Articles with peer review

  • Iacomino G, Lauria F, Russo P, Venezia A, Iannaccone N, Marena P, Ahrens W, De Henauw S, Molnár D, Eiben G, Foraita R, Hebestreit A, Kourides G, Moreno LA, Veidebaum T, Siani A, on behalf of the I.Family consortium. The association of circulating miR-191 and miR-375 expression levels with markers of insulin resistance in overweight children: An exploratory analysis of the I.Family study. Genes & Nutrition. 2021;16:10.
    https://doi.org/10.1186/s12263-021-00689-1
  • Nyangasa MA, Buck C, Kelm S, Sheikh M, Günther K, Hebestreit A. The association between leptin and inflammatory markers with obesity indices in Zanzibari children, adolescents, and adults. Obesity Science & Practice. 2021;7(1):71-81.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.466
  • Rosas LG, Mensink GBM, Finger JD, Schienkiewitz A, Do S, Wolters M, Stanley I, Abu Omar K, Wieczorowska-Tobis K, Woods CB, Murrin CM, Ahrens W, Hebestreit A, on behalf of the PEN consortium. Selection of key indicators for European policy monitoring and surveillance for dietary behaviour, physical activity and sedentary behaviour. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2021;18:48.
    https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01111-0
  • Sina E, Buck C, Ahrens W, De Henauw S, Jilani H, Lissner L, Molnár D, Moreno LA, Pala V, Reisch LA, Siani A, Solea A, Veidebaum T, Hebestreit A, on behalf of the I.Family consortium. Digital media use in association with sensory taste preferences in European children and adolescents - Results from the I.Family study. Foods. 2021;10(2):377.
    https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10020377
  • Sina E, Buck C, Veidebaum T, Siani A, Reisch LA, Pohlabeln H, Pala V, Moreno LA, Molnár D, Lissner L, Kourides Y, De Henauw S, Eiben G, Ahrens W, Hebestreit A, on behalf of the IDEFICS and I.Family consortia. Media use trajectories and risk of metabolic syndrome in European children and adolescents: The IDEFICS/I.Family cohort. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2021;18:134.
    https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01186-9
  • Bogl L-H, Mehlig K, Ahrens W, Gwozdz W, De Henauw S, Molnár D, Moreno LA, Pigeot I, Russo P, Solea A, Veidebaum T, Kaprio J, Lissner L, Hebestreit A, on behalf of the IDEFICS and I.Family consortia. Like me, like you – relative importance of peers and siblings on children’s fast food consumption and screen time but not sports club participation depends on age. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2020;17:50.
    https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-00953-4
  • Cheng L, Pohlabeln H, Ahrens W, Russo P, Veidebaum T, Chadjigeorgiou C, Molnár D, Eiben G, De Henauw S, Moreno LA, Page A, Hebestreit A, on behalf of the IDEFICS and I.Family consortia. Sex differences in the longitudinal associations between body composition and bone stiffness index in European children and adolescents. Bone. 2020;131:115162.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bone.2019.115162
    https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl%3A6421455
  • Bogl L-H, Mehlig K, Intemann T, Masip G, Keski-Rahkonen A, Russo P, Michels N, Reisch LA, Pala V, Johnson L, Molnár D, Tornaritis M, Veidebaum T, Moreno LA, Ahrens W, Lissner L, Kaprio J, Hebestreit A, on behalf of the I.Family consortium. A within-sibling pair analysis of lifestyle behaviours and BMI z-score in the multi-centre I.Family study. Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases. 2019;29(6):580-589.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2019.01.017
    https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl%3A6421805
  • Hebestreit A, Thumann B, Wolters M, Bucksch J, Huybrechts I, Inchley J, Lange C, Lien N, Manz K, Slimani N, van der Ploeg H, Ahrens W, on behalf of the DEDIPAC consortium. Road map towards a harmonized pan-European surveillance of obesity-related lifestyle behaviours and their determinants in children and adolescents. International Journal of Public Health. 2019;64(4):615-623.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-019-01227-y
    https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl%3A6417557
  • Nyangasa MA, Buck C, Kelm S, Sheikh M, Brackmann K, Hebestreit A. Association between cardiometabolic risk factors and body mass index, waist circumferences and body fat in a Zanzibari cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2019;9:e025397.
    https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025397
  • Nyangasa MA, Buck C, Kelm S, Sheikh M, Hebestreit A. Exploring food access and sociodemographic correlates of food consumption and food insecurity in Zanzibari households. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019;16(9):1557.
    https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091557
  • Sina E, Buck C, Jilani H, Tornaritis M, Veidebaum T, Russo P, Moreno LA, Molnár D, Eiben G, Mårild S, Pala V, Ahrens W, Hebestreit A. Association of infant feeding patterns with taste preferences in European children and adolescents: A retrospective latent profile analysis. Nutrients. 2019;11(5):1040.
    https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11051040
  • Wolters M, Volkert D, Streicher M, Kiesswetter E, Torbahn G, O'Connor EM, O'Keeffe M, Kelly M, O'Herlihy E, O'Toole PW, Timmons S, O'Shea E, Kearney P, van Zwienen-Pot J, Visser M, Maitre I, van Wymelbeke V, Sulmont-Rossé C, Nagel G, Flechtner-Mors M, Goisser S, Teh R, Hebestreit A, on behalf of the MaNuEl consortium. Prevalence of malnutrition using harmonized definitions in older adults from different settings - A MaNuEL Study. Clinical Nutrition. 2019;38(5):2389-2398.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2018.10.020
    https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl%3A6417560
  • Ahrens W, Siani A, Adan R, De Henauw S, Eiben G, Gwozdz W, Hebestreit A, Hunsberger M, Kaprio J, Krogh V, Lissner L, Molnár D, Moreno LA, Page A, Picó C, Reisch LA, Smith RM, Tornaritis M, Veidebaum T, Williams G, Pohlabeln H, Pigeot I, on behalf of the I.Family consortium. Cohort profile: The transition from childhood to adolescence in European children - How I.Family extends the IDEFICS cohort. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2017;46(5):1394-1395j.
    https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyw317
  • Bel-Serrat S, Huybrechts I, Thumann B, Hebestreit A, Abuja PM, De Henauw S, Dubuisson C, Heuer T, Murrin CM, Lazzeri G, van Rossum C, Andersen LF, Szeklicki R, Vioque J, Berry R, van der Ploeg H, Ahrens W, Slimani N, on behalf of the DEDIPAC consortium. Inventory of surveillance systems assessing dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviours in Europe: A DEDIPAC study. European Journal of Public Health. 2017;27(4):747-755.
    https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckx023
  • Bogl L-H, Silventoinen K, Hebestreit A, Intemann T, Williams G, Michels N, Molnár D, Page A, Pala V, Papoutsou S, Pigeot I, Reisch LA, Russo P, Veidebaum T, Moreno LA, Lissner L, Kaprio J. Familial resemblance in dietary intakes of children, adolescents, and parents: Does dietary quality play a role. Nutrients. 2017;9(8):892.
    https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9080892
  • Hebestreit A, Intemann T, Siani A, De Henauw S, Eiben G, Kourides Y, Kovács E, Moreno LA, Veidebaum T, Krogh V, Pala V, Bogl L-H, Hunsberger M, Börnhorst C, Pigeot I, on behalf of the I.Family consortium. Dietary patterns of European children and their parents in association with family food environment: Results from the I.Family study. Nutrients. 2017;9(2):126.
    https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9020126
  • Jilani H, Ahrens W, Buchecker K, Russo P, Hebestreit A, on behalf of the IDEFICS consortium. Association between the number of fungiform papillae on the tip of the tongue and sensory taste perception in children. Food and Nutrition Research. 2017;61(1):1348865.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/16546628.2017.1348865
  • Jilani H, Intemann T, Bogl L-H, Eiben G, Molnár D, Moreno LA, Pala V, Russo P, Siani A, Solea A, Veidebaum T, Ahrens W, Hebestreit A, on behalf of the I.Family consortium. Familial aggregation and socio-demographic correlates of taste preferences in European children. BMC Nutrition. 2017;3:87.
    https://doi.org/10.1186/s40795-017-0206-7
  • Hebestreit A, Barba G, De Henauw S, Eiben G, Hadjigeorgiou C, Kovács E, Krogh V, Moreno LA, Pala V, Veidebaum T, Wolters M, Börnhorst C, on behalf of the IDEFICS consortium. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between energy intake and BMI z-score in European children. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2016;13:23.
    https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-016-0344-3
  • Nyangasa MA, Kelm S, Sheikh M, Hebestreit A. Design, response rates, and population characteristics of a cross-sectional study in Zanzibar, Tanzania. JMIR Research Protocols. 2016;5(4):e235.
    https://doi.org/10.2196/resprot.6621

  • Book chapters

  • Hebestreit A, Wolters M, Jilani H, Eiben G, Pala V. Web-based 24-h dietary recall: The SACANA program. Cham. 2019.

For further publications please follow this link:

  • Aufnahme als Mitglied im AcademiaNet
    The Swiss National Science Foundation (2020)
    Anerkennung als exzellente Wissenschaftlerin in der Leibniz‐Gemeinschaft
  • Aufnahme in das Mentoring-Programm der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
    Leibniz Gemeinschaft (2013)
    Besondere Eignung für eine Karriere auf höchster Leitungsebene
  • Doctoral Scholarship
    Justus-Liebig Universität Gießen (2000)
    Promotionsstipendium

  • Seminar Evidence-based health care, Master of Public Health programme at the University of Bremen
  • Seminar "Public Health Nutrition", Public Health B.A.,Bachelor, Universität Bremen

The responsibility for the content of this page lies with Antje Hebestreit.

Antje Hebestreit

Contact

Phone:
+49 (0)421 218-56-849
E-mail:
hebestr(at)leibniz-bips.de