School of Professional Studies

Liz Balk, Department of Health Promotion & Exercise Sciences

Dr. Liz Balk is an Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Exercise Science in the HPX department at WCSU.
She completed her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science (2002) and Masters of Science in Education, with a focus in Physical Education (2008) at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL.

Upon graduating from her master’s program, she was recruited to design and teach a new career tech program at the Career and Technology Education Center (C-TEC) in Newark, Ohio (2008-2011). The 2-year high school program entitled, Physical Therapy and Exercise Science, trained juniors and seniors in exercise prescription and rehabilitation preparing them to sit for a personal training certification post-graduation.
Dr. Balk earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology from The Ohio State University (2015) with a concentration in Physical Activity Behavior and completed her Registered Dietetic Examination through the OSU Department of Human Nutrition.

Her dissertation evaluated psychosocial factors, rooted in the Social Cognitive Theory, common to treatment-seeking bariatric surgery patients. Her current research focuses on physical activity and diet behavior change in high-risk populations (particularly, severe/morbidly obese patients and bariatric patients), including examining the influence of psychosocial correlates on physical activity and diet behavior change, as well as, the development and evaluation of theory-based interventions to promote physical activity and diet behavior change adherence and maintenance at the in-patient and out-patient level.

She has presented research at conferences for several national and international organizations including the American College of Sports Medicine, North American Primary Care Research Group, and The Obesity Society/American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Dr. Balk is actively involved in on-going research and dissemination of findings through multiple publications in the Health Behavior and Nutrition fields.