NIH Releases Research Strategy to Fight Obesity Epidemic
NIH Director Elias M. Zerhouni, M.D., today announced the release
of the final version of the Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research,
a multi-dimensional research agenda to enhance both the development
of new research in areas of greatest scientific opportunity and
the coordination of obesity research across NIH. The report is on
the web at obesityresearch.nih.gov.
"We are pleased about this focused effort to identify research
opportunities in obesity. We are especially concerned about the
serious problems we see emerging in overweight children. Many of
these are problems that we used to see only in adults," said
Zerhouni.
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has targeted obesity as a major
priority of the Department. “There is no doubt that obesity
is an epidemic that must be stopped. This plan gives us a clear
focus for confronting obesity with science-based research approaches,”
Thompson said.
Emphasizing the importance of cross-cutting investigations, the
plan calls for interdisciplinary research teams to bridge the study
of behavioral and environmental causes of obesity with the study
of genetic and biologic causes. Lifestyle interventions could be
improved through a greater understanding of genetic and biologic
aspects and vice versa. Also, successful prevention and treatment
of obesity may require a combination of behavioral, environmental
and medical approaches in highly susceptible individuals.
The Plan calls for intensifying efforts along several fronts:
- Behavioral and environmental approaches to modifying lifestyle
to prevent or treat obesity
- Pharmacologic, surgical and other medical approaches to
effectively and safely prevent or treat obesity
- Breaking the link between obesity and diseases such as type
2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers
- Research on special populations at high risk for obesity,
including children, ethnic minorities, women and older adults
- Translating basic science results into clinical research
and then into community intervention studies
- Disseminating research results to the public and health
professionals.
The most recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention show that 65 percent of U.S. adults or about 129.6 million
people are either overweight or obese. In addition to decreasing
quality of life and increasing the risk of premature death, obesity
and overweight cost the Nation an estimated $117 billion in direct
medical costs and indirect costs such as lost wages due to illness.
Against this backdrop, Zerhouni created the NIH Obesity Research
Task Force in the spring of 2003 to intensify basic and clinical
research and to enhance coordination of obesity research across
NIH. The group developed the Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research
with input from many scientists at academic and other settings across
the country, organizations advocating for patients and health professionals,
and other members of the public.
“By focusing on goals with the greatest scientific opportunity
and challenge, we are optimistic that NIH can greatly expand the
knowledge base on this complex, multi-faceted disorder,” said
Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Spiegel also co-chairs the Task
Force with Barbara Alving, M.D., Acting Director of the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
NIH invested $378.6 million for obesity research in fiscal year
2003, will invest about $400.1 million in fiscal year 2004, and
is projected to support obesity research amounting to about $440.3
million in fiscal year 2005, an increase of about 10 percent over
2004.
“Obesity increases individuals’ risk for a whole host
of diseases, with cardiovascular disease right at the top of the
list,” said Dr. Alving. “By addressing obesity in such
a comprehensive way, NIH stands to make major inroads to helping
both children and adults enjoy healthy and fully active lives.”
Printed copies of the Strategic Plan may be ordered from NIH’s
Weight-control Information Network at (877) 946-4627 and online
at www.niddk.nih.gov/health/nutrit/nutrit.htm.
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