Memorial Resolution: Ralph S. Paffenbarger Jr.
RALPH S. PAFFENBARGER
(1923-2007)Ralph S. Paffenbarger Jr., MD, DrPH, an internationally known exercise authority and professor emeritus of the Department of Health Research and Policy, died peacefully at his home in Santa Fe, N.M., on July 9, following a long battle with congestive heart disease. He was 84.
Paffenbarger was born in Columbus, Ohio. He served in World War II and then earned his MD from Northwestern University Medical School and his masters and doctoral degrees in public health from the School of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. He served on the faculty of Harvard and UC-Berkeley before joining Stanford's full-time faculty as professor and Chief of Epidemiology in 1977. During the 1940s he served as an officer in the U. S. Public Health Service, studying the transmission and pathogenesis of polio.
A world-renowned pioneer in understanding the relationship between exercise and longevity, Paffenbarger's work showed that higher levels of physical fitness were associated with a lower risk of heart disease and a marked decrease in death rates. In the late 1950s, he became interested in the possible health benefits of physical activity and focused his research on San Francisco longshoremen and, later, college alumni. In 1960 he began his College Alumni Health Study, using periodic questionnaires to collect data over several decades about the personal characteristics, physical-activity levels, illnesses and deaths of more than 50,000 people who had graduated from either Harvard University or University of Pennsylvania. In a 1988 interview with Runner's World magazine, Paffenbarger referred to the data as a "natural history of ways of life and disease in America."
In 1996, using the alumni data, Paffenbarger published the results of a seminal study showing that men who burned at least 2,000 calories a week through exercise had death rates one-quarter to one-third lower than those who were much less active during 12 to 16 years of follow-up. The study also concluded that people who exercised gained, on average, one to two years of additional life compared with those who were mostly sedentary. Evidently motivated by the findings of his studies, Paffenbarger began competitive running at age 45, ultimately competing in more than 150 marathon events.
Paffenbarger's findings provided the basis for exercise and prevention guidelines throughout the world. His work significantly influenced the 1996 Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health, as well as exercise guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Paffenbarger (or "Paff") is survived by his wife JoAnn, and four children from a previous marriage. He was a gentle person and a wonderful, caring colleague. His love of medicine, science and literature, evident in his beautiful research papers, will motivate and enrich others for years to come.
Committee: Alice S. Whittemore, Ph.D. Professor Philip Lavori
