Summary
Dr. You Fu is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on physical activity behaviors, movement patterns and health outcomes across the lifespan, with a particular emphasis on children and adolescents. His work integrates school- and community-based research with large-scale national datasets to examine the relationships among physical activity, sedentary behavior, motor competence and health-related outcomes. Dr. Fu has established a productive and externally funded research program, authoring more than 70 peer-reviewed publications. His research has been supported by more than $1.4 million in external and internal funding, including a major project funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. His recent work has expanded to incorporate national population-based datasets to examine behavioral patterns and health disparities, particularly in response to limitations on school-based data collection during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Collectively, his research contributes to advancing understanding of the determinants and consequences of physical activity and movement behaviors, with implications for public health, education and policy.
Research interests
Dr. Fu’s research program centers on understanding and improving physical activity and health outcomes across the lifespan, with three primary areas of focus:
- Physical Activity and Health in Youth Examining the relationships among physical activity, sedentary behavior, motor competence and health outcomes in children and adolescents using both school-based and population-level data.
- Measurement of Physical Activity and Movement Behaviors Developing and applying methods to assess physical activity and sedentary behavior, including accelerometry, direct observation and survey-based approaches.
- Population Health and Secondary Data Analysis Utilizing large-scale national datasets (e.g., YRBS, NHANES, BRFSS) to investigate behavioral patterns and health disparities, particularly in response to constraints on primary data collection during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
His work bridges applied, community-based research and large-scale epidemiological analysis, contributing to a broader understanding of movement behaviors and health across diverse populations.
Selected publications
- Schmidt, D., Fu, Y. & Burns, R. (2025). Mediating effects of physical activity on the association between adverse childhood experiences and quality of life in college students. Journal of American College Health, 1-9.
- Burns, R. D., Kim, Y., Fu, Y., Byun, W. & Bai, Y. (2023). Independent and joint associations of aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise with mental health in adolescents: A cross-sectional analysis before and during COVID-19 using the 2015–2021 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Preventive Medicine, 177, 107750.
- Fu, Y., Burns, R. D., Hsu, Y. J. & Zhang, P. (2022). Motivation, segmented physical activity, sedentary behavior, and weight status in adolescents: A path analysis. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 93(1), 204-209.
- Fu, Y., Burns, R. D., Brusseau, T. A., Zheng, P. & Constantino, N. (2021). Influence of segmented weekday and weekend step counts on weight status in children. Journal of Sports Sciences, 39(7), 808-814.
- Fu, Y. & Burns, R. D. (2018). Effect of an active video gaming classroom curriculum on health-related fitness, school day step counts and motivation in sixth graders. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 15(9), 644-650.
- Fu, Y. & Burns, R. D., Constantino, N. & Zhang, P. (2018). Differences in step counts, motor competence and enjoyment between an exergaming group and a non-exergaming group. Games for Health Journal, 15(9), 644-650.
Education
- Ph.D. in Exercise and Sport Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 2014
- M.Ed. in Kinesiology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China, 2009
- B.Ed. in Kinesiology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China, 2006