Albert J. Stunkard

Albert J. ("Mickey") Stunkard (7 February 1922 – 12 July 2014) was an American psychiatrist. He is known for his first descriptions of binge eating disorder and night eating syndrome in the 1950s.

Albert Stunkard was born inManhattan, New York City, as the son of biologist Horace Stunkard. He studied medicine at Yale University and received his bachelor's degree in 1943. He received his MD from Columbia University in 1945. During World War II, he served as a physician in the United States Army in Japan. From 1973 to 1977 he was the head of the psychiatric department at Stanford University. Yet, he spent the majority of his career as a psychiatrist and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. He died on 12 July 2014 in his Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, home from pneumonia. He is generally considered as one of the most famous pioneers in obesity research. There is a chair professorship at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania named for Stunkard. Holders of the chair have included Thomas A. Wadden.

• Albert J. Stunkard, Andrew Baum (Eds.): Perspectives in Behavioral Medicine – Eating, Sleeping, and Sex. 1st edition. Psychology Press, Hove, UK 1989, ISBN 978-0805802801
• Thomas A. Wadden, Albert J. Stunkard (Eds.): Obesity: Theory and Therapy. 2nd edition. Raven Press, New York 1993, ISBN 978-0881678840.
• Kelly C. Allison, Albert J. Stunkard, Sara L. Thier: Overcoming Night Eating Syndrome. New Harbinger Publications, Oakland 2004, ISBN 978-1572243279
• Thomas A. Wadden, Albert J. Stunkard (Eds.): Handbook of Obesity Treatment. 1st edition. The Guilford Press, New York 2004, ISBN 978-1593850944
• Jennifer D. Lundgren, Kelly C. Allison, Albert J. Stunkard (Eds.): Night Eating Syndrome: Research, Assessment, and Treatment. 1st edition. The Guilford Press, New York 2012, ISBN 978-1462506309.