About

Dr. Ronette Kolotkin, the owner/manager of Quality of Life Consulting, PLLC, is a research and practicing psychologist who focuses on understanding, measuring and optimizing health-related quality of life. She consults with pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and other organizations on measurement and interpretation of quality of life assessments in pharmaceutical and healthcare research, and in the development of products or services. In addition, she maintains a private practice, specializing in persons with obesity who wish to improve their quality of life.

She holds faculty appointments in the US and Norway:

Consulting Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Professor Emerita at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Førde, Norway; Førde Hospital Trust, Førde, Norway; and Morbid Obesity Centre, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway

Dr. Kolotkin is the primary developer of the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life questionnaire (IWQOL-Lite©), a widely used questionnaire that assesses quality of life in adults with obesity, as well as the IWQOL-Kids© for adolescents, and the IWQOL-Lite-Clinical Trials Version (IWQOL-Lite-CT)©.

In addition to over 100 professional publications, Dr. Kolotkin is a co-author of The Duke University Medical Center Book of Diet and Fitness and has written chapters for several books, including: "Obesity and its Impact upon Quality of Life" in Integrative Weight Management; "Health-related Quality of Life in Severely Obese Individuals" in Handbook of Obesity Surgery; "Assessment of Health-related Quality of Life in Obesity and Eating Disorders" in Handbook of Assessment Methods for Eating Behaviors and Weight Related Problems, 2nd edition; "Quality of Life: Relationship to Obesity" in Progress in Obesity Research: 9.

She received a BA from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. For 15 years, Dr. Kolotkin served as Director of the Behavioral Health Program at Duke University's Diet and Fitness Center.