Improving Successful Long-term Weight Loss By Deactivating The Human Famine Reaction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$799,102.00
Summary
There are more than 7 million overweight or obese adults in Australia. With conventional methods of weight loss, only 5% of these people will be able to achieve permanent weight reduction of any significance to health outcomes. This project aims to develop more effective and permanent methods of weight management through comparing effectiveness of continuous versus intermittent dieting; and determining what metabolic, hormonal and behavioural factors predict weight regain.
An Investigation Of Physiological Adapatations Contributing To Weight Regain After Weight Loss
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$405,897.00
Summary
Why we gain weight, and why it s hard to maintain weight loss, is the focus of this study. We can regulate food intake by voluntary control in the short term ( dieting ), but our long term ability to control food intake is more complex. Many proteins work together to regulate food intake, as do circulating factors in our blood. Before and after weight loss, subjects feelings of hunger and satiety will be examined so that we can identify pathways that are involved in successful weight loss.
A Randomised Controlled Trial To Prevent Primigravid Excessive Gestational Weight Gain And Postpartum Weight Retention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$505,412.00
Summary
Excessive weight gain in pregnancy and weight retention 12 months post birth place women at a greater risk for the development of overweight and obesity. This study responds to the urgent need to design effective interventions to prevent excessive weight gain in pregnancy and postpartum weight retention. A health coaching intervention has been designed to address this urgent need, and its effectiveness will be evaluated in a randomised controlled trial with first time pregnant women.
Lifestyle And Pharmacological Regulation Of Lipoprotein Metabolism In The Metabolic Syndrome
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$504,504.00
Summary
Visceral obesity is an increasing problem in Australia. Elevated blood fat levels are associated with visceral obesity and increased risk for heart disease. Effective management of lipid disorders is important to reduce the risk for heart disease. Fats in the blood originate from dietary sources and from synthesis by the liver. In viscerally obese subjects, the level of blood fats is elevated compared with lean individuals. These abnormalities are partly caused by overproduction of fat in the li ....Visceral obesity is an increasing problem in Australia. Elevated blood fat levels are associated with visceral obesity and increased risk for heart disease. Effective management of lipid disorders is important to reduce the risk for heart disease. Fats in the blood originate from dietary sources and from synthesis by the liver. In viscerally obese subjects, the level of blood fats is elevated compared with lean individuals. These abnormalities are partly caused by overproduction of fat in the liver and impaired clearance of fat from the blood. Two particular proteins, called apolipoprotein A and B-100, are important fat carriers responsible for transporting fat in the blood. Viscerally obese subjects have abnormal levels of these apoproteins and we hypothesised that they are responsible for the impaired movement of fat in the blood. Viscerally obese subjects are insulin resistant and are prone to diabetes. This condition will impair the regulation of apolipoproteins A and B-100. In this research project, we will investigate the effect of a fibrate (a regulator of fat production and breakdown) and ezetimibe (a regulator of dietary cholesterol absorption) on the production and clearance rates of apolipoprotein A and B in a group of obese subjects who are on weight loss program . If our hypothesis is correct, these studies will demonstrate new mechanisms of action of the two drugs that will complements the favourable effect of weight loss in the treatment of elevated blood fats and reduction in risk of heart disease in an important groups of subject in the population.Read moreRead less
Body Mass Index And Mortality In Aboriginal Australians In Northern Territory: A Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$136,220.00
Summary
The ultimate goal of this study is to define a healthy weight range for Aboriginal people. To fulfil this goal, we will investigate the health implications of body weight and weight change in Aboriginal communities. We will assess the association between body weight (as measured by body mass index) and the risk of death by examining how the death rate changes with body weight. The findings will have important implications for health professionals to provide adequate advice to Aboriginal Australi ....The ultimate goal of this study is to define a healthy weight range for Aboriginal people. To fulfil this goal, we will investigate the health implications of body weight and weight change in Aboriginal communities. We will assess the association between body weight (as measured by body mass index) and the risk of death by examining how the death rate changes with body weight. The findings will have important implications for health professionals to provide adequate advice to Aboriginal Australians, and for Aboriginal people to adopt a healthy life style in relation to body weight. Due to the differences in body shape and physiological and environmental factors between Aborigines and other populations, the optimal body weight obtained from other populations may not be applicable to Aboriginal communities. Do males and females have different optimal body weights? Do old and young people have different optimal body weights? This study will provide evidence for answering various questions like these. Individuals with different characteristics may have different optimal body weight values. Such information is useful for the development and modification of dietary guidelines for Aboriginal Australians. The results on the health impact of weight change are important for guiding weight control programs in Aboriginal communities.Read moreRead less
Genetic And Metabolic Determinants Of Spontaneous Physical Activity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$67,828.00
Summary
It could be argued that obesity is the most significant public health problem facing Australians today. Almost one in five adult Australians are obese, making them highly susceptible to diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood lipid levels, and some cancers, as well as reduced psychosocial health. There is therefore an urgent need to reduce the prevalence of obesity in our society. Unfortunately, attempts to sustain significant weight loss by dieting and exercise are nea ....It could be argued that obesity is the most significant public health problem facing Australians today. Almost one in five adult Australians are obese, making them highly susceptible to diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood lipid levels, and some cancers, as well as reduced psychosocial health. There is therefore an urgent need to reduce the prevalence of obesity in our society. Unfortunately, attempts to sustain significant weight loss by dieting and exercise are nearly always unsuccessful and none of the anti-obesity drugs currently on the market are safe to use long-term. Effective treatments for obesity are only likely to be developed once we understand more about what controls body weight regulation. An inactive lifestyle is clearly a risk factor for obesity. Spontaneous physical activity (or activity associated with daily life, as opposed to formal exercise) can play a major role in determining body weight. Recent work suggests that spontaneous physical activity is influenced not only by our environment but by our biological makeup as well (i.e. genetic and metabolic factors). The aim of this study is to investigate what some of these factors are, and whether they are responsible for altering body weight regulation in animal models of obesity. Specifically we will be looking at whether spontaneous physical activity is influenced by circulating hormones (such as leptin, oestrogen, and pancreatic polypeptide) and a messenger molecule (nitric oxide), and we will also identify genes which influence physical activity in a mouse model of obesity. By examining the genetic and metabolic basis of inactivity in obese rodent models, this project will further our understanding of how energy balance is disturbed in obesity in the hope of developing better therapies to treat obesity in the future.Read moreRead less
THE CONTROL OF TYPE 2 DIABETES THROUGH WEIGHT LOSS IN INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: THE FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY OF LAGB
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,854.00
Summary
Our recent clinical trial showed that 3 out of every 4 obese people with type 2 diabetes who undergo substantial weight loss have their diabetes go into remission. In this project we recognise in the Indigenous people specific cultural and socio-economic factors and family and community approach to health care and seek to test if the Lap-Band procedure is acceptable to them and if it is feasible to achieve substantial weight loss and control of diabetes as was seen in a European population.