Anne Needham Thorndike, MD

General internist at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her clinical and research interests are in the prevention and treatment of obesity through lifestyle modification.

Departments

Executive Health Services Go To Programs

Primary Care Go To Programs

Medicine Go To Programs

Centers & Specialties

Heart Center Go To Specialties

• Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center

Clinical Interests

• Metabolic syndrome
• Obesity medicine
• Smoking cessation
• Lifestyle management

Medical Education

• MD, UMASS Medical School
• Residency, University of Chicago Hospitals
• Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital

Board Certifications

• Internal Medicine

Locations

• Boston: Massachusetts General Hospital

Insurances Accepted

• Aetna Health Inc.
• Beech Street
• Blue Cross Blue Shield - Blue Care 65
• Blue Cross Blue Shield - Indemnity
• Blue Cross Blue Shield - Managed Care
• Blue Cross Blue Shield - Partners Plus
• Cigna (PAL #'s)
• Fallon Community HealthCare
• Great-West Healthcare (formally One Health Plan)
• Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan - ACD
• Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan - PBO
• Health Care Value Management (HCVM)
• Humana/Choice Care PPO
• MassHealth
• Medicare
• Medicare - ACD
• Neighborhood Health Plan - ACD
• Neighborhood Health Plan - PBO
• OSW - Maine
• OSW - New Hampshire
• OSW - Rhode Island
• Private Health Care Systems (PHCS)
• Railroad Medicare
• Railroad Medicare - ACD
• Senior Whole Health
• TriCare
• Tufts Health Plan
• Unicare
• United Healthcare (non-HMO) - ACD
• United Healthcare (non-HMO) - PBO

Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.

Patient Age Group

Adult

Gender

Female

Research Summary

Dr. Thorndike's current research focuses on population-based approaches that utilize behavioral economics strategies to promote healthy food choices in worksite and community environments.

Publications

Selected publications:

1. Thorndike AN, Sonnenberg L, Riis J, Barraclough S, Levy DE. A 2-phase labeling and choice architecture intervention to improve healthy food and beverage choices. American Journal of Public Health. 2012:102:527-533. PMCID: PMC3329221.
2. Levy DE, Riis J, Sonnenberg LM, Barraclough SJ, Thorndike AN. Food choices of minority and low-income employees: a cafeteria intervention. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2012;43:240-248. PMCID: PMC3422505
3. Thorndike AN, Riis J, Sonnenberg L, Levy DE. Traffic light-light labels and choice architecture: promoting healthy food choices. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2014;46:143-149. PMCID: PMC3911887.

• Smoking cessation benefits persist in spite of weight gain in patients with mental illness

  The weight gain that can result from quitting smoking does not eliminate the reduction in cardiovascular risks associated with smoking cessation among patients with serious mental illness, at least not during the first year.

• Eat right everywhere at the MGH

  The success of the Choose Well, Eat Well traffic light labeling program – launched in the MGH Eat Street Café in 2010 – recently earned the hospital a grant from the Donaghue Foundation to expand the program to reach all patients and visitors.

• Preventing obesity in the supermarket aisle

  A year ago while I was rearranging the beverage display at Compare Supermarket in Chelsea, I thought to myself: “How did I get from medical school to the supermarket aisle?” The complete story is long- too long for this article- but my path from internal medicine residency and primary care practice to community-based research reflects an evolution in my thinking about prevention and health.

• "Traffic light" food labels, prominent positioning of healthy items produce lasting purchase choice changes

  The use of color-coded "traffic light" food labels and changes in the way popular items are displayed appear to have produced a long-term increase in the choice of more healthful food items among customers in a large hospital cafeteria.

• Go with green

  “CHOOSE WELL, EAT WELL,” a simple, inexpensive nutrition program launched at the MGH in 2010, has proven successful in encouraging healthier choices at the hospital’s largest cafeteria, the Eat Street Café.

• Color-coding, rearranging food products improves healthy choices in hospital cafeteria

  A simple program involving color-coded food labeling and adjusting the way food items are positioned in display cases was successful in encouraging more healthful food choices in a large hospital cafeteria.