EU project tackles Europe's 'skyrocketing' obesity problem
'If we look at the prevalence of obesity in Europe we can see that compared to the United States where the phenomenon started in the 1980s, for the past ten years we see the figures of sufferers skyrocketing in Europe. This makes it a real medical problem which Europe has to tackle,' says Wim H.M. Saris, the coordinator of one of the largest and most ambitious projects into obesity. The EU-funded DiOGenes (Diet, Obesity and Genes) project is studying the dietary, genetic, physiological and psychological factors behind the condition so as to try and turn the tide of obesity, which now affects 10% of Europe's population and accounts for around 5% of the continent's health budgets. Even if scientists agree that obesity is mostly determined by genetic factors, the current epidemic is also the result of lifestyle factors including a poor or inappropriate diet and too little exercise. For the partners in the project, given our genetic background, it is essentially unfeasible for humans to effectively regulate their food intake under present conditions. The main focus of the project therefore will be to research the role of the carbohydrate and high dietary protein content in enhancing satiety, or the feeling of being full. A DNA bank of over 13,000 individuals will form the basis of initial studies, and further analyses will include a long-term dietary intervention study in eight European countries encompassing whole families with both obese and normal weight members. This strand of the project will include two research supermarkets, in Copenhagen (Denmark) and Maastricht (the Netherlands), where families will 'shop' for food where the information is collected in a database to determine nutrient composition. In this way, the project will develop a method of predicting an individual's weight change in response to different dietary nutrients. In turn, this enables the researchers to define personalised diet-based treatments for the families. Ultimately, the goal of the five-year project will be to develop innovative food products that consumers like and which contain the right ingredients to prompt their satiety signals, thus limiting their food intake. The project is funded under the 'Food quality and safety' priority of the EU's Sixth framework Programme (FP6)
Countries
Denmark, Netherlands