Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research
The purpose of the Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research is to provide
a guide for coordinating obesity research activities across the NIH and
for enhancing the development of new research efforts based on identification
of areas of greatest scientific opportunity and challenge. The Strategic
Plan represents a cohesive, multi-dimensional research agenda for addressing
the problem of obesity. It includes short-, intermediate-, and long-term
goals for basic, clinical, and population-based obesity research,
along with strategies for achieving those goals that likewise range in
timeframe. Building on scientific advances from previous NIH-supported
efforts, the Strategic Plan seeks to maximize collaboration among the
NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICs) and to capitalize on their expertise and interest in developing
obesity research initiatives.
The Strategic Plan's goals, and strategies for achieving them, are organized into chapters framed upon the following four themes:
- Research toward preventing and treating obesity through lifestyle
modification.
- Research toward preventing and treating obesity through pharmacologic,
surgical, or other medical approaches.
- Research toward breaking the link between obesity and its associated
health conditions.
- Cross-cutting research topics, including health disparities, technology,
fostering of interdisciplinary research teams, investigator training,
translational research and education/outreach efforts.
External Input to Inform the Strategic Planning Process and Development
of the Plan
Importantly, the planning process was informed by input from experts external to the NIH, through interactions with NIH staff at scientific meetings,
through meetings and workshops convened by NIH ICs for the purpose of
obtaining research planning advice, and through presentations by the
Co-chairs of the Task Force to external scientific and health advocacy
organizations. An important advisory group from whom the NIH receives
expert input on obesity is the NIDDK Clinical Obesity Research Panel
(CORP), which is composed of leading external obesity researchers and
clinicians. Additionally, strategies designed to achieve the goals of the Plan, in
the form of initiatives, are reviewed and discussed by members of ICs'
National Advisory Councils, which are groups of prominent external scientific
experts and lay leaders established by law and charter to provide advice
to ICs.
In addition to the external advice that the NIH receives through the
avenues above, which continues to inform the obesity research planning
process, an initial version of the Strategic Plan document itself was
circulated in draft form to invite comments from over 70 external individuals,
including scientists with expertise in obesity research and leaders of
voluntary and professional health advocacy organizations. After receiving
input from this effort (from nearly half of those individuals, as
well as from others with whom some of the individuals shared the draft),
a revised draft was
posted on the Internet to invite further scientific and public comment
before production of a final version.
The NIH Obesity Research Task Force greatly appreciates the input received on drafts of the Strategic Plan.
To obtain a copy of the Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research
The Strategic Plan is available in both electronic and print versions.
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Electronic version (PDF): The Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research is presented in PDF format, and can be downloaded from this Web site either as the entire document or in separate sections. The PDF can only be viewed using the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader software version 5.0 or later. To view PDF documents using common screen readers, download the free Acrobat® Reader with Accessibility features (version 5.0 or later).
Entire Document
(PDF - 1.9MB, 95 pages)
Text Only (PDF - 375 KB, 93 pages)
Cover Design (PDF - 1.6MB, 3 pages)
Executive Summary (PDF - 101 KB, 7 pages) |
Print version: Single copies are available for free (no bulk orders). To obtain a single copy, contact the Weight-control Information Network at:
Weight-control Information Network
1 WIN Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3665 (Please use complete 9-digit ZIP code.)
Phone: (202) 828-1025 or 1-877-946-4627.
Email: win@info.niddk.nih.gov
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