WIN Notes
Spring/Summer 1996

• Advancing Obesity and Nutrition Research
• Public Accesses WIN's Toll-free Number
• Genes in Overweight Mice, Rats Carry Instructions for Leptin Receptor
• Mutations in Leptin Receptor Cause Obesity in Mice
• NIDDK Website Brings WIN to Cyberspace
• Sisters Together Campaign Is On the Move
• Eating Disorders Workshop Sets Research Priorities
• Meeting Notes
• New Publications Available through WIN
• Clinical Nutrition & Obesity Lecture Series Videos Now Available through WIN
• Materials from Other Organizations
• WIN Exhibit Reaches Health Professionals
• Order Publications

Advancing Obesity and Nutrition Research:

Obesity/Nutrition Research Centers and Clinical Nutrition Research Units

(Chart) Percent Increase in
Prevalence of Overweight Adults
Between 1976 and 1991

The ONRC program was established to encourage a multidisciplinary approach to obesity and nutrition research. Center activities focus primarily on developing new knowledge concerning the development, treatment, and prevention of obesity and eating disorders; understanding control and modulation of energy metabolism in obesity; and understanding and treating disorders associated with abnormalities of energy balance and weight maintenance. Other nutrition-related investigations can also utilize the available core resources. In 1995, the New York Obesity Research Center was officially renamed as an ONRC.

The first CNRUs were established in 1979 by NIDDK and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to bring together basic science and clinical investigators in a manner that enriches the effectiveness of nutrition research. The CNRU program is an array of research, educational, and core laboratory activities focused on human nutrition in health and disease.

The NIDDK maintains full support of four ONRCs and six CNRUs. The NCI continues to support two CNRUs. Each of these centers and units, as well as formerly funded ONRCs and CNRUs, have made and continue to make significant advances in the areas of obesity and clinical nutrition. Once awarded the ONRCs and CNRUs generally need to compete for continued funding after approximately 4 to 5 years. Sometimes an application from a new institution will be selected for support instead of continuing an existing Center. When this occurs, often a small amount of funding is provided to the "old" Center to allow efficient completion of many activities. A brief description of current and recent ONRCs and CNRUs follows.

*The Vanderbilt University CNRU was established in 1979 within the University's School of Medicine. This CNRU coordinates research and collaborative relationships among investigators primarily within the School of Medicine, but also Meharry Medical College Centers and other Vanderbilt Medical School Centers. The CNRU's research focuses on nutrition as it relates to mineral metabolism, vitamin A metabolism, inborn errors of metabolism, cell growth, fat metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, energy balance, amino acid metabolism, vitamin D metabolism, and folic acid metabolism.

*The University of Chicago CNRU was established in 1979. Its primary objectives are to foster and expand nutrition research by both the University's clinical and basic science faculty and its affiliates. The Chicago CNRU's seven primary areas of research include: cellular actions and metabolism of vitamin D; calcium metabolism, nephrolithiasis, and metabolic bone disease; energy metabolism and obesity; lipids and lipoproteins; diabetes and carbohydrate metabolism; nutrition, cell growth, and cancer; and gastrointestinal physiology and biochemistry.

*The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) CNRU was established in 1980 and is funded by NCI. This center unifies the nutrition and cancer prevention and control research efforts of the five participating institutions: MSKCC; New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical College; Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery; and North Shore University Hospital.

*The New York ONRC, originally established in 1980 as an Obesity Research Center, combines the efforts of Columbia, Cornell, and Rockefeller universities. The center has a large research base that focuses on a number of areas related to obesity including molecular biology and genetics, body composition, energy expenditure, adipocyte metabolism, and ingestive behavior.

*The University of California (UC), Davis CNRU was established in 1985. This center includes nutrition scientists from the School of Medicine, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and School of Veterinary Medicine. The CNRU concentrates on five main areas of research: obesity and food intake; lipid metabolism and disorders; alcohol metabolism and disorders; growth, development, and nutrition requirements of the life cycle; and inflammation and immunity.

*The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) CNRU was founded in 1985 and is funded by NCI. Its research focuses on nutrition and cancer prevention within the UCLA School of Medicine and allied health professional schools, the College of Letters and Sciences, the Center for the Health Sciences, and six affiliated medical centers (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center [VAMC], Sepulveda VAMC, King Drew Medical Center, and St. Mary's Long Beach Medical Center).

*The University of Washington CNRU, started in 1985, facilitates, coordinates, and integrates the research, educational, and clinical activities in the fields of human and basic nutrition. This CNRU's research focuses on the role of nutrition in the etiology, management, and prevention of chronic disease states. Specific areas of research include lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis, diabetes, body weight regulation and obesity, cancer research, and metabolic bone disease.

*The Oregon Health Sciences University CNRU began in 1990 and was funded through fiscal year 1995. The Oregon CNRU fostered scientific investigation, research training, and nutrition education within the departments of medicine, public health, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, medical psychology, anesthesiology, and surgery. The center's activities focused primarily on the relationship of diet to cardiovascular system disorders.

*The University of Pittsburgh ONRC, established in 1992, facilitates research to develop more effective interventions for the prevention and treatment of obesity. The ONRC's collaborative institutions include the Endocrinology Division of Children's Hospital; the Reproductive Endocrinology Division of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Magee Women's Hospital; and the Human Genetics Department of the Graduate School of Public Health.

*The Boston ONRC was established in 1992. Based at the New England Medical Center, the Boston ONRC is a collective effort of five major Boston institutions: the New England Medical Center (Tufts Medical Center), Beth Israel and Deaconess hospitals (Harvard University), University Hospital (Boston University), and the Harvard School of Public Health. The Boston ONRC activities focus on the natural history of obesity, energy metabolism in health and disease, and education and training.

*The Harvard University CNRU, which started in 1994, conducts research that yields insights into the cause and treatment of nutrition-related diseases. The CNRU's participating institutions include the Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research at the CNRU focuses on epithelial cell biology, intestinal host defense, intermediary metabolism, nutrition in clinical disease, nutritional deficiencies, nutrition in enterocyte gene expression, and nutrients in malignant transformation.

*The Colorado CNRU was established in 1995. It is based in the University of Colorado School of Medicine's Center for Human Nutrition, an interdepartmental center established by the University of Colorado and Colorado State University. Its goals are to enhance ongoing nutrition research and to foster an environment of interactive research, training, and education. Center activities focus on obesity and diabetes, developmental aspects of nutrient utilization, and micronutrient utilization and function.

*The University of Vermont ONRC was established in 1992 and funded through fiscal year 1995. The Vermont ONRC provided resources to support the University's education and research on obesity and its interrelated metabolic disorders.

*The Minnesota ONRC, established in 1995, is a combined effort of researchers from the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, the University of Minnesota, and the Mayo Clinic. The primary goals of this center are to identify the underlying causes of obesity, identify and change behaviors that lead to obesity and eating disorders, and identify and evaluate public policies that will reduce the frequency and severity of obesity.

For additional information on the CNRUs and ONRCs, contact the Weight-control Information Network.

* indicates NIDDK-funded center

Public Accesses WIN's Toll-free Number WIN's toll-free number 1-877-946-4627, gives the public access to up-to-date and accurate information on weight control and related topics. Since its launch in January, hundreds of callers from across the country have listened to messages on obesity and its health risks and treatments, nutrition, weight control, and the Sisters Together campaign and received information on these topics. WIN's fact sheets, reprints of articles and reports, and the new 1995 Nutrition and You: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fourth Edition are also available. Callers can also find out how to contact a registered dietitian.

Contents

Genes in Overweight Mice, Rats Carry
Instructions for Leptin Receptor

Using genetic mapping techniques and gene analysis, the scientists, led by Streamson C. Chua Jr., M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor and Rudolph L. Leibel, M.D., associate professor and codirector of the Laboratory of Human Behavior and Metabolism, identified similarities in the two genes. Previous research at Rockefeller and elsewhere showed that mice and rats with mutated versions of the db and fa genes are overweight and usually develop diabetes. They also have high levels of leptin, yet remain fat.

"Finding mutations in the gene that makes the receptor for the obese gene product in two different mammals, mice and rats, increases the likelihood that we will find mutations in the gene in humans and other mammals as well," says Leibel. "We suspect that because of the relationships between rodent and human genes, a similar gene is likely to reside on the human chromosome 1."

In 1995, a receptor for leptin was cloned by Louis Tartaglia, Ph.D., of Millennium Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the work reported in the current paper, the Rockefeller investigators and Tartaglia precisely located the leptin receptor site in the genes of the mouse and rat and demonstrated that db and fa are mutations of this receptor. The db gene is on the mouse chromosome 4 and the fa gene is on the rat chromosome 5.

At least five mutations have been identified in the db gene and two in the fa gene. In the specific db gene mutation examined by the investigators at Rockefeller, the mutation appears to be a duplication of DNA within the gene. In the rats with faulty fa genes, the mutation appears to be a deletion of some of the gene's DNA.

"The db gene is quite large, which allows for a greater chance of mutations," Leibel says. "By detecting how such mutations affect the receptor made by the db gene, we should learn more about the receptor's structure and how it binds, responds to, and processes the obese gene product."

Leibel and his team continue their work to determine the molecular structures of the db and fa genes, the characteristics of their activities, and the exact nature of the mutations in mice and rats with defective db and fa genes.

In addition, the research team plans to search for the human gene equivalent to db and fa by screening blood samples from adults who weigh 300 or more pounds. Interested individuals are asked to write Dr. Leibel at The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, Box 309, New York, NY 10021. People interested in participating must write "Obesity Study" on their envelope and include information about their age, weight, height, address, and day and evening phone numbers.

Chua, Leibel, and Tartaglia's coauthors include Wendy K. Chung, B.S., Sharon Wu-Peng, M.D., Ph.D., Yiying Zhang, Ph.D., and Shun-Mei Liu, M.D., all at Rockefeller. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the New York Obesity/Nutrition Research Center, and the Irma T. Hirschl Trust provided support for the study.

Contents

Mutations in Leptin Receptor
Cause Obesity in Mice

"When we found leptin in 1995, we suspected that it acted in the hypothalamus, a region of the brain known to regulate food intake and body weight," says Jeffrey M. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., professor and associate investigator. "In our current work, we have determined that there are at least six different forms of the leptin receptor, known as Ob-R. One of these forms, Ob-Rb, is expressed at a high level in the hypothalamus."

Friedman and his colleagues have found Ob-Rb is mutant in diabetic (db) mice, which are consequently massively obese and resistant to leptin.

While Ob-Rb appears to be critical for the weight-reducing effects of leptin, the functions of other forms of Ob-R are not known, Friedman says. Another form, Ob-Re, is produced in fat tissue and encodes a secreted form of the receptor, which may be a carrier protein for leptin. A choroid plexus form of the receptor, Ob-Ra, initially identified by investigators at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Hoffman-LaRoche, may transport leptin into the brain. More research is required to define the functions of the other forms of the leptin receptor.

In 1995, the Millennium group lead by Louis Tartaglia, Ph.D., cloned a leptin receptor, Ob-R, from the brain's choroid plexus. This brain structure makes the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the brain and spinal column. They identified Ob-R by virtue of its ability to bind to leptin, the hormone made by the mouse obese gene, which Friedman and his colleagues isolated and cloned in 1994. The Millennium team also identified a second form of the receptor that is the human equivalent to Ob-Rb.

In the current work reported in Nature, Friedman and his team identified at least six different forms of the Ob-R protein and propose that many additional forms of this receptor exist. The scientists identified the Ob-R receptors by scanning for genes in the region of the db mutation on mouse chromosome 4. They found that one of the genes in this region was identical to the Ob-R gene. They observed, however, that Ob-R is alternately spliced, resulting in many different forms.

"Leptin may modulate the activity of neuropeptide Y, glucagon-like peptide 1, and other peptides and neurotransmitters that are known to affect feeding behavior in the hypothalamus," Friedman explains. "Leptin may also affect other tissues that have Ob-Rb receptors, including fat."

Friedman's coauthors include Gwo-Hwa Lee, Ph.D., Ricardo Proenca, M.S., J.M. Montez, B.S., Kristine M. Carroll, B.S., Jerald G. Darvishzadeh, B.S., and Jung I. Lee, B.S. HHMI appointments are also held by Gwo-Hwa Lee, Ricardo Proenca, and Jung I. Lee. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) supported the research.

Contents

NIDDK Website Brings WIN to Cyberspace

Accessing online information on obesity, nutrition, and weight control is just a few keystrokes (or point and clicks) away now that the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) home page feature hypertext links to the Weight-control Information Network (WIN) fact sheets. Users can download, print, or read full-text fact sheets on Choosing a Safe and Successful Weight-Loss Program, Dieting and Gallstones, Physical Activity and Weight Control, Very Low-Calorie Diets, and Weight Cycling while they are exploring the World Wide Web. Full-text of Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a U.S. Department of Agriculture publication, can also be accessed through the NIDDK home page.

The WWW is a collection of electronic documents, or "home pages," that contain text, graphics, and "links" to Internet resources. The links, called hypertext, appear as highlighted text or graphics on the home page. When a user clicks on a highlighted word, phrase, or graphic, the linked document appears. Home pages can link users to other websites, gopher sites, text documents, images, sounds, and video. The NIDDK home page contains links to information on disorders covered by NIDDK; the National Institutes of Health (NIH) home page and other health-related government agencies; and NIDDK and other NIH research funding and training. Visitors to the NIDDK home page who are interested in biomedical research projects that are supported by the U.S. Public Health Service can access the CRISP (Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects) database. This full-text, searchable database is asource of information on biomedical research ventures supported by the U.S. Public Health Service, including NIH intramural research programs. Users can link to the NIDDK website using their web browser applications by entering the NIDDK home page address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator):http://www.niddk.nih.gov.

NIDDK launched its website in December 1994 to test the feasibility of using the computer to disseminate NIDDK information formerly available only in printed form to health professionals and the general public. One month after NIDDK launched its home page, it was named "Pick of the Week" by NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications).

"In the beginning, our home page was an experimental site, and we took about 500 hits per day. Now it is a fully sanctioned home page running on an Apple server, and we take about 10,000 hits per day," said Kathy Kranzfelder, director of the NIDDK information clearinghouses and administrator of the home page project. A "hit" is a click on any home page link. According to Kranzfelder, if the average person clicks on a home page five times, that means approximately 2,000 people per day are accessing information through NIDDK's home page.

Visitors to NIDDK's website who are interested in obesity and nutrition-related topics can access WIN fact sheets and other nutrition-related information. However, if the information you need is not available on the NIDDK home page, you can conduct searches for Weight Loss & Control information using any of the available WWW search engines. The Yahoo and Webcrawler websites provide access to some of the most popular and efficient search engines. You can access Yahoo at www.yahoo.com and Webcrawler at www.webcrawler.com. Yahoo offers a subject index to help beginners search more efficiently. Just access Yahoo's home page and click on one of the topic selections (e.g., government, health). To use the Webcrawler site, just enter key words (e.g., obesity, pediatrics) in the form box and click on the "Search" button under the box.

Contents

Sisters Together Campaign Is On the Move

To prepare for warmer weather and better walking conditions, walking group leaders from the three Boston communities were recruited and trained throughout the winter. These leaders encourage women to join the walking groups and educate them about the importance of physical activity. The leaders also distribute a Walking brochure to each group member. The brochure, designed specifically for the target audience, includes information on the health benefits of walking, safety tips for walkers, examples of warm-up exercises, and a sample walking program.

To promote the campaign's "eat better" message, all program participants receive a copy of the 1996 Sisters Together wall calendar. Each month the calendar features a healthy recipe from one of the Food Guide Pyramid's five food groups, menu planning tips, nutrition and physical activity information, and space to keep a daily record of activities.
The calendar, as with all campaign materials, was tested with the target audience for content, readability, style, and format.

"The calendars are very popular with our listening audience," said Olivia Fox, a disc jockey from the Boston radio station WILD. WILD distributes calendars and broadcasts public service announcements in support of the Sisters Together campaign. WILD's listening audience includes black women living in the targeted communities.

Further promotional activities for the campaign include a book signing and discussion on healthful eating by Danella Carter, author of a new "soul food" cookbook, Down Home Wholesome. This event was cosponsored by Sisters Together and the Black American Lifestyle Intervention (BALI) clinical trial, a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases multi-center trial designed to teach healthy lifestyle habits to obese black women ages 40 to 65. Sisters Together, along with BALI and Essence magazine, also cosponsored a seminar on the topic of black women and the media.

The community is actively involved in the Sisters Together project. Local beauty salons, YMCAs, grocery stores, and community health centers are interested in promoting the campaign by distributing Sisters Together educational and promotional materials to their clientele. "The response from the community is outstanding," said William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of clinical and pediatric nutrition at the New England Medical Center and coordinator of Sisters Together. "A sense of ownership of Sisters Together by people in the local community is crucial to the success of the campaign," said Dietz.

Sisters Together is a project of WIN, in conjunction with the Boston Obesity/Nutrition Research Center, which includes representatives from the New England Medical Center, the Harvard School of Public Health, and Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy. For further information about WIN and Sisters Together activities, consumers, health professionals, and the media can call WIN's toll-free number, 1-877-946-4627.

Contents

Eating Disorders Workshop
Sets Research Priorities

Approximately 100 scientists and clinicians attended the workshop and discussed topics including defining eating disorders, risk factors for eating disorders, prevention of eating disorders, psychobiology of eating disorders, psychopathology and comorbidity, and treatment of eating disorders. A summary of the workshop discussions is being written to stimulate scientific research on these topics.

The workshop was sponsored by the National Task Force on Prevention and Treatment of Obesity, a working group of leading obesity and nutrition researchers from across the country; the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the National Institute of Mental Health; the Office of Research on Women's Health; the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, Office of the Director; and the Academy for Eating Disorders.

Contents

Meeting Notes

July 20-24, 1996
Society of Nutrition Education
Annual Meeting
St. Louis, MO
Phone: (612) 854-6721

August 16-20, 1996
International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals
Annual Meeting
Colorado Springs, CO
Phone: (800) 800-8126

August 17-25, 1996
American Association of Diabetes Educators
Annual Meeting
New Orleans, LA
Phone: (800) 832-6874

September 26-29, 1996
International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity
Annual Meeting
Prague, Czech Republic
Phone: (901) 448-6781

October 10-13, 1996
American College of Nutrition
Annual Meeting
San Francisco, CA
Phone: (212) 777-1037

October 12-15, 1996
North American Association for the Study of Obesity
Annual Meeting
Breckenridge, CO
Phone: (303) 270-8443

October 17-19, 1996
American Society of Bariatric Physicians
Annual Symposium
Orlando, FL
Phone: (303) 779-4833

October 21-24, 1996
American Dietetic Association
79th Annual Meeting
San Antonio, TX
Phone: (800) 877-1600, ext. 4868

November 11-14, 1996
American Heart Association
Annual Meeting
New Orleans, LA
Phone: (214) 373-6300

November 17-21, 1996
American Public Health Association
Annual Meeting
Empowering the Disadvantaged: Social Justice and Public Health
New York, NY
Phone: (202) 789-5670

May 28-31, 1997
American College of Sports Medicine
Annual Meeting
Denver, CO
Phone: (317) 637-9200

July 27-August 1, 1997
American Society for Clinical Nutrition
37th Annual Conference
Montreal, Canada
Phone: (301) 530-7110

July 27-August 1, 1997
International Union of Nutritional Sciences
16th International Congress of Nutrition
Montreal, Canada
Phone: (613) 993-7271

Contents

New Publications Available through WIN

Gastric Surgery for Severe Obesity. This fact sheet describes the different types of surgery available to treat severe obesity. It explains how gastric surgery promotes weight loss and the benefits and risks of surgery. 1996.

Nutrition Research at the NIH. This booklet provides information on the specific areas of nutrition research supported by each of the components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Information concerning program developments and mechanisms used to support nutrition research is also provided. The NIH nutrition research program includes extramural and intramural research, research training, and research manpower development.1995.

Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fourth Edition. Developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this booklet provides advice for healthy Americans, ages 2 years and over, about food choices that promote health and prevent disease. It stresses the important role a balanced diet and physical activity play in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 1995.

Contents

Clinical Nutrition & Obesity Lecture Series
Videos Now Available through WIN

• Eating Disorders: Prevention and Treatment, Marsha D. Marcus, Ph.D.

• Nutrition and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Michael D. Sitrin, M.D.

• Severe Obesity, the New Epidemic: Surgical Update, Walter J. Pories, M.D.

• Visceral Obesity: More than a Weight Problem, Jean-Pierre Despres, Ph.D.

• Antioxidants and Atherogenesis, Alan Chait, M.D.

• Clinical Implications of Body Composition and Energy Measurements, Steven B. Heymsfield, M.D.

• Nutritional Findings and Interventions in the AIDS Patient, Donald Kotler, M.D.

• Physical Activity, Metabolism, and Weight Control, Judith Stern, Sc.D.

• Behavioral Approaches to the Treatment of Obesity and Type II Diabetes, Rena R. Wing, Ph.D.

• Critical Periods in the Development of Childhood Obesity, William H. Dietz, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.

• Human Studies on Obesity, Jules Hirsch, M.D.

• Living Without Dieting, John P. Foreyt, Ph.D.

• Physical Activity, Diet Composition, and Obesity, James O. Hill, Ph.D.

• The Biologic Basis of Obesity, Rudolph Leibel, M.D.

• Control of Food Intake, Barbara J. Rolls, Ph.D.

• Gender, Genetics, and Obesity, M.R.C. Greenwood, Ph.D.

• Nutrition and the Injury/Stress Response in the Hospitalized Patient, Bruce R. Bistrian, M.D., Ph.D.

• Vitamin D: Not Just for Bones, Hector F. DeLuca, Ph.D.

Contents

Materials from Other Organizations

• Health Risks of Weight Loss. By Frances M. Berg, M.S., this 157-page book presents health risks of weight-loss interventions, including dieting, weight-loss surgery, diet pills, semi-starvation, purging, rapid weight loss, eating disorders and weight cutting in sports. The author identifies many current weight-loss treatment methods as health risks, related to a wide range of adverse physical and mental effects. The book is available for $19.95 from: Healthy Weight Journal, 402 South 14th Street, Hettinger, ND 58639; (800)663-0023.

• Skin Deep. Produced by Disney Educational Productions, this video portrays the story of three high school girls who are members of the school swim team. Through personal experience, the girls learn the physical and emotional dangers of anorexia, bulimia, and intense exercise. The video is available from: Disney Educational Productions, 1200 Thorndale Avenue, Elk Grove, IL 60007; (800) 295-5010.

• Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) Anthropometric Procedures Video. Produced by the National Center for Health Statistics, this video contains the standardized anthropometric procedures used throughout NHANES III for the body measurement component of the survey. These procedures are important for health researchers and involved in studies comparing data collected locally to nationally representative reference data. This video is available for $19 from: Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954; (202) 512-1800. Stock Number 017-022-01335-5.

Contents

WIN Exhibit Reaches Health Professionals

These meetings give WIN staff an opportunity to share WIN's educational materials and information with physicians, dietitians, and nutrition education professionals. Health professionals who attend these meetings can find a credible, authoritative source of information on weight-control topics.

In 1996, WIN staff plan to attend the following meetings:

• May 14-15, National Institutes of Health, Health Fair, Bethesda, MD

• October 12-15, North American Association for the Study of Obesity, Breckenridge, CO

• October 17-19, American Society of Bariatric Physicians, Orlando, FL

• October 21-24, American Dietetic Association, San Antonio, TX

Contents

Order Publications

• Binge Eating Disorder
• Choosing a Safe & Successful Weight-Loss Program
• Dieting & Gallstones
• Gastric Surgery for Severe Obesity
• Physical Activity and Weight Control
• Understanding Adult Obesity
• Very Low-Calorie Diets
• Weight Cycling

PAMPHLETS (Bulk copies available)

• Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans

REPRINTS (Single copies only)

• Are Anorectic Agents the "Magic Bullet" for Obesity?
• Are You Eating Right?
• Binge Eating Disorder: Current Knowledge & Future Directions
• Binge Eating Disorder Affects Outcome of Comprehensive Very Low-Calorie Diet Treatment
• The New Diet Pills: Are they safe? Effective?
• A Practical Approach to Treatment of the Obese Patient
• Report on the NIH Workshop on Pharmacologic Treatment of Obesity
• Towards Prevention of Obesity: Research Directions
• Weight Management Without Dieting

SEARCHES ON FILE (Single copies only)

• Diet and Nutrition
• Obesity and Weight Control

CONFERENCE STATEMENTS

• Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Body Composition (Single copies only)
• Gastrointestinal Surgery for Severe Obesity (Single copies only)
• Methods for Voluntary Weight Loss and Control (Bulk copies available)

REPORTS (Single copies only)

• Healthy People 2000: Midcourse Review and 1995 Revisions
• 16th Annual Report. National Institutes of Health Program in Biomedical & Behavioral Nutrition Research and Training. Fiscal Year 1992
• Nutrition Research at the NIH
• Prevention of Obesity: Populations at Risk, Etiological Factors and Intervention Strategies (Obesity Research Vol. 3, Supp. 2)

When responding by email, please include the following:

*Name
*Title
*Organization
*Address
*City
*State
*Zip Code
*Telephone Number (include area code)
*Fax Number (include area code)
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*Questions
*Comments
*Order -- Titles, Quantity and Total Items

The Weight-control Information Network
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