Ian K. Smith (born July 15, 1969) is an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and television host best known for hosting The Doctors. In 2007, he launched the 50 Million Pound Challenge, a national weight loss initiative sponsored by CVS Pharmacy and

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the la ...

. He has also made appearances on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's ''

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...

'' series, '' The View'', and as a correspondent for

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

. He is also the host of ''HealthWatch with Dr. Ian Smith'', a daily news feature. Smith has authored a number of books related to health and weight loss, as well as three crime novels.

Education

Smith and his twin brother Dana, natives of

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

, graduated from

Immaculate High School Immaculate High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. Overseen by the Diocese of Bridgeport, IHS serves residents of 23 towns in the greater Danbury area. Immaculate High School, established i ...

(Danbury). Ian received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1992, and a Masters in Science Education from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1993. He attended Dartmouth Medical School, then completed the last two years of his medical education and graduated from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Pritzker School of Medicine.

Professional career

Smith hosts ''HealthWatch with Dr. Ian Smith'', a nationally syndicated daily news feature heard on American Urban Radio Networks. In 2010, Smith was appointed to the

President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition The President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN) is an American government organization that aims to "promote, encourage and motivate Americans of all ages to become physically active and participate in sports". It is part of the ...

50 Million Pound Challenge

In April 2007, Smith launched the 50 Million Pound Challenge in partnership with

State Farm Insurance State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the lar ...

. The challenge was a national health initiative encouraging awareness of fitness and the risks of obesity. The Challenge was a free campaign supported by national civic and health organizations with the purpose of reducing the impact of high blood pressure, cardiac disease and obesity in the United States. The 50 Million Pounds website developed a partnership with CVS Pharmacy. In partnership with CVS, the 50 Million Pound Challenge participated in a series of free community health events in urban communities in the United States, with a particular focus on improving health outcomes in the African-American community. CVS will hosted over 250 "To Your Health" fairs in cities such as Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, providing health risk assessments and screenings for common chronic health issues including

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressure" r ...

, high cholesterol and

Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...

. The fairs included celebrity guests such as Biz Markie, Steve Harvey,

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

and

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million album ...

Writing

Smith has written a dozen books including ''The Fat Smash Diet'', a 90-day diet program that focuses on "smashing" bad eating and exercise habits and establishing new healthy ones. His book ''Happy'' was released in April 2010. His book ''The Truth About Men'' was released in April 2012, ''Shred: The Revolutionary Diet'' was released in December 2012, and ''Super Shred: The Big Results Diet'' was published in December 2013. In 2015, Smith published ''The Shred Diet Cookbook'' and ''The Shred Power Cleanse''. He has also written articles and essays for

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

, Men's Health, and the

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

, and has been featured in other publications including

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

, Essence, Ebony,

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

, and

Medicine on the Midway. Smith later began writing fiction novels, starting with ''The Blackbird Chronicles'' in 2005, about a murdered Dartmouth professor. Smith later wrote ''The Ancient Nine'' (2018) and ''The Unspoken'' (2020), with the latter being the first in a planned series about Ashe Cayne, a black police officer who refuses to participate in police corruption. Smith has said that ''The Unspoken'' was inspired by the real life

murder of Laquan McDonald The murder of Laquan McDonald took place on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. McDonald was a 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police Department, Chicago Police Officer, Jason Van Dyke. Police had initially reported that McDona ...

Television

Smith co-hosted season six of the health talk show The Doctors in 2014-2015. Beginning September 12, 2020, he has been its sole host, as the show switched from a panel of hosts to a sole host format. Smith was the medical and diet expert on

. He also appeared extensively on various broadcasts including The View, The Tyra Banks Show, Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360°, Showbiz Tonight, Verdict with Dan Abrams,

The Rachael Ray Show ''The Rachael Ray Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by Rachael Ray that debuted in Broadcast syndication, syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006 and also airs in other countries. It is taped at Chelsea St ...

, and Opie and Anthony.

Personal life

Ian Smith married health executive Tristé Noelle Lieteau on May 29, 2005. In 2018, the couple sold their townhome in the

South Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

and moved to a mansion in

Kenwood, Chicago Kenwood, one of Chicago's 77 community areas, is on the shore of Lake Michigan on the South Side of the city. Its boundaries are 43rd Street, 51st Street, Cottage Grove Avenue, and the lake. Kenwood was originally part of Hyde Park Township, ...

Bibliography

* The Take-Control Diet (2001) * The Fat Smash Diet (2006) * Extreme Fat Smash Diet (2007) * The 4 Day Diet (2009) * Happy: Simple Steps to Get the Most Out of Life (2010) * EAT: The Effortless Weight Loss Solution (2011) * Shred: The Revolutionary Diet (2012) * The Truth About Men: The Secret Side of the Opposite Sex (2012) * Super Shred: The Big Results Diet (2013) * The Shred Diet Cookbook (2015) * The Shred Power Cleanse (2015) * Blast the Sugar Out! (2017) * The Clean 20 (2018) *Clean and Lean (2019) *Mind over Weight (2020) *Fast Burn! (2021) *Plant Power (2022)

Fiction (As Ian Smith)

* The Blackbird Papers (2004) * The Ancient Nine (2018) *The Unspoken (2020)

References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ian K. American exercise and fitness writers American health and wellness writers American medical writers Physicians from Illinois American self-help writers American television journalists Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Geisel School of Medicine alumni Diet food advocates Harvard College alumni NBC News people People from Danbury, Connecticut Pritzker School of Medicine alumni 1969 births Living people American male journalists Journalists from New York City African-American physicians African-American novelists 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people