Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Health Services, UCLA
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, UCLA
A2-125 CHS, Box 690015
UCLA Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research
Los Angeles, CA 90095-6900
Phone: 310-794-7587
Fax: 310-206-3566
E-mail: wmccarth@ucla.edu

Dr. McCarthy has devoted most of his 25-year career to intervention studies designed to encourage members of special populations to adhere to Dietary Guidelines for Americans (African American adult women, low-income middle school students, low-income patients of community health centers) and to be smokefree (WIC participants, aerospace workers, Korean and South Asian immigrants). He has also conducted epidemiological investigations of tobacco use in special populations (adolescents, Asian subpopulations, residents of homeless shelters). Dr. McCarthy received the 1994 American Cancer Society Capitol Dome award for his career of public service and received the 1994 Health Fitness Leader award from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. He received his research training at Yale University (Psychology Ph.D.) and the University of Illinois (Psychology, M.A.).

Teaching. Dr. McCarthy co-teaches "Obesity, Physical Activity and Nutrition" (HS M255 / CHS M234) with Dr. Yancey and co-teaches " Determinants of Health" (HS M242) with Dr. Fielding. He also teaches Psychology 298 -"Health-related lifestyle change."

Research. Dr. McCarthy and colleagues recently completed a cluster-randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of California's Senate Bill 19 Pupil Nutrition Act. He also currently directs the evaluation of California's tobacco use education efforts in the state's public middle and high schools, as he has for the previous 6 years. He and his colleagues are examining telephone counseling and lay health worker modalities for providing low-cost, high-impact lifestyle counseling to low-income patients of local community health centers to reduce their risk of cancer and diabetes.

Service. He has been a member of and chaired regional and state committees on nutrition for the American Cancer Society. He continues to volunteer for the American Cancer Society, especially to promote public policies that promote more healthful lifestyle choices. He chaired a Health Advisory Committee for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District for 7 years. His enthusiasm for promoting healthful eating practices extends to his clothes. He has the sartorial distinction of wearing more fruit and vegetable-theme neck ties than any other faculty member.

Selected Publications

Government reports

McCarthy WJ, Dietsch B, Hanson TL, Zheng CH, Aboelata, M. Evaluation of the In-School Tobacco Use Prevention Education Program 2001-2002. Sacramento, California: Tobacco Control Section, California Department of Health Services. 2004, 191 pp. Accessible at: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/tobacco/documents/pubs/SchoolsReport.pdf.

McCarthy WJ, Divan H, Shah D, Maxwell A, Freed B, Bastani R, Bernaards C, Surani Z. California Asian Indian Tobacco Survey-2004. Sacramento, California: Tobacco Control Section, California Department of Health Services. 2005, 238 pp. Accessible at: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/tobacco/documents/eval/AsianIndianTobaccoStudy.pdf.

Peer-review publications

McCarthy WJ. A step in the maturation of the field of lifestyle change interventions. [Editorial]. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2007; 25: 2338-2339.

McCarthy WJ, Yancey AK, Siegel JM, Wong WK, Ward A, Leslie J, Gonzalez E. Obesity Correlates with Elevated Blood Pressure, but not with Elevated Serum Cholesterol, among Ethnic Minority Adolescents. Preventing Chronic Disease. (2007-in press).

An N, Cochran SD, Mays VM, McCarthy WJ. Influence of American acculturation on cigarette smoking behaviors among Asian American subpopulations in California. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. (2007 -in press).

Arangua L, McCarthy WJ, Moskowitz R, Gelberg L, Kuo T. Are homeless transitional shelters receptive to environmental tobacco control interventions? Tobacco Control. 2007; 16: 143-144.

Yancey AK, Sallis J, Breslow L, Flores G, Fielding J, McCarthy WJ. Creating a Robust Public Health Infrastructure for Physical Activity Promotion. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2007; 32: 68-78.

McCarthy WJ, Yancey AK, Harrison GG, Leslie J, Siegel JM. Fighting Cancer with Fitness: Dietary outcomes of a randomized, controlled lifestyle change intervention in healthy African-American women. Preventive Medicine. 2007; 44:246-253.

Yancey AK, McCarthy WJ, Harrison GG, Wong WK, Siegel JM, Leslie J. Results of a community-based, randomized, controlled lifestyle change intervention: African American Women Fight Cancer with Fitness. Journal of Women's Health. 2006;15:412-29.

Kim J, McCarthy WJ. Influence of school contexts on smoking and drinking of Asian and Pacific Islander adolescents. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2006; 84:56-68