Loretta DiPietro, PhD, began playing field hockey in 1967. This June, she’ll showcase her lifelong love for the sport by playing at an international tournament. DiPietro, a professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH), is one of 16 players on the team representing the United States at the week-long Grand Masters Hockey European Cup in Brasschaat, Belgium.
“Most of the players are people who I’ve played with or against my entire career,” DiPietro said.
DiPietro began playing field hockey as a child and continued playing through high school and college. When she was in graduate school, she was selected to play for the New England sectional team, where she played from 1979 to 1985, and also played for her club team (national champions in 2000) for 25 years before coming to GW. DiPietro has been inducted into the New England, Connecticut, and Southern Connecticut State University Field Hockey Halls of Fame. She said participating in sport has tremendous physical, mental, and social benefits, including connections with teammates that become life-long friendships.
“It’s given me a reason to stay active and train, and it’s always been a good outlet for frustration,” DiPietro said.
DiPietro’s research focuses on the physiological benefits of physical activity and has bridged the gap between population-based public health and the clinical and physiological domains of exercise science. She joined Milken Institute SPH in 2008 and served as chair of the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences from 2008 to 2017. Her recent study found that the combination of excess weight and obesity and an inactive lifestyle represents a powerful joint risk factor for mobility loss after age 60.
For more information on DiPietro’s research, click here.