Fighting childhood obesity to stay healthy all over the life

Project Information

OBELISK

Grant agreement ID: 101080465

DOI

10.3030/101080465

EC signature date 7 April 2023

Start date 1 May 2023

End date 30 April 2028

Funded under

• Health

Total cost

€ 10 054 268,00

EU contribution

€ 10 054 268,00

Coordinated by

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OBELISK (Fighting childhood obesity to stay healthy all over the life)

Reporting period: 2023-05-01 to 2024-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Obelisk is a five-year research project with the ambition to prevent childhood obesity and contribute to enhancing the health, quality of life, and life span of people of all ages living in Europe. Treating adults with obesity and overweight is known to be difficult, and it's proven that both prevention and treatment work better in younger age groups. Obelisk has an ambitious research programme to prevent childhood obesity and "cut the roots" of the pandemic.
WP1 is dedicated to managing data for the OBELISK project while expanding a comprehensive European catalogue of longitudinal cohorts and clinical studies. These datasets encompass early life stages (including parents and offspring) and integrate biological, social, economic, and health-related variables, with a particular emphasis on childhood obesity.
WP2 ensures that all preventive interventions targeting childhood obesity adhere to rigorous ethical standards and are designed to address the complex societal, medical, and psychological dimensions of obesity prevention. By incorporating ethical, legal, and social considerations, WP2 provides a framework for the responsible development and implementation of effective obesity prevention strategies.
WP3 focuses on generating and integrating multi-omic data within the OBELISK cohorts to advance the understanding of childhood obesity at a molecular level.
WP4 is dedicated to conducting whole-exome sequencing for all participants with obesity recruited through WP5. Using gold-standard molecular diagnostic guidelines, this work package applies precision medicine approaches to individuals carrying pathogenic mutations in actionable genes. Beyond diagnostics, WP4 seeks to discover novel genes involved in monogenic obesity and unravel their functional roles, contributing to both clinical advancements and fundamental obesity research.
Recognizing that childhood and adolescent obesity lay the foundation for adult obesity and its associated complications, WP5 is committed to early prevention and improving obesity care across the lifespan. This work package addresses the high prevalence of obesity in Europe by implementing evidence-based interventions tailored to adolescents and adults, aiming to reduce long-term metabolic and cardiovascular risks through personalized treatment strategies.
WP6 is designed to amplify the impact of the OBELISK project by:
Disseminating key findings to scientific, clinical, and policy-making communities.
Engaging stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, public health authorities, and policymakers, to ensure that project outcomes inform evidence-based health policies.
Facilitating knowledge transfer to enhance obesity prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies at national and international levels.
WP7 ensures the efficient governance of the OBELISK project by maintaining seamless coordination across all work packages. This work package oversees project timelines, objectives, and deliverables, ensuring adherence to research milestones while optimizing collaboration and resource allocation.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The implementation of the initial objectives has begun, with work progressing on several key tasks.The contributor to the WP have worked independently and together to address these. The work was facilitated by the developing regular online meetings (bi-monthly) and establishing templates to inventory the relevant human studies, the needs for harmonization and the skills required to harmonize the required data (e.g. data managers) and prepare the relevant IT environment (e.g. IT specialist).
WP2 has been having regular contacts with colleagues to integrate the consideration of ethical issues throughout the duration of the project. A systematic review was conducted to identify the full spectrum of ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of childhood obesity preventative interventions and policies. Interviews have been initiated with a range of experts and parents regarding their views and experiences of ELSI connected to childhood obesity preventative interventions and policies.
Progress of WP3 has been made as planned on several objectives, with participants showing strong collaboration. To enhance coordination and ensure effective communication, regular online meetings were organized. The contributions of WP3 partners were closely aligned with the project’s priorities, enabling substantial advancements during OBELISK's initial phase. Of note, regarding the development of COBRISC, it has been agreed to develop multiple versions of the COBRISC score concurrently to accelerate the initiation of the TAPE-Obesity trial under WP5.
Similarly, the work carried out by WP4 partners was well-aligned with project requirements, resulting in significant progress during the first phase of OBELISK.
In WP5, the trial TAPE-Obesity (Targeted Approach to Prevent Early Obesity) has entered its recruitment phase in October 2024 in Italy, and will test a strategy to prevent obesity from birth, offering to the families different intensities of follows-up based on the a priori risk of their child to develop obesity. The ObGeSEMA trial has also started in France, offering a promising anti-obesity drug to patient with rare severe forms of genetic obesity. A trial for adolescents with obesity is upcoming in Italy.
During this first reporting period WP6 has laid strong foundations to help facilitate the effective communication, dissemination and exploitation of the project and its results. Key achievements include: a strategic plan (D6.1) a project identity (logo/brand), a project website, social media engagement, a podcast, communications toolkit and training, and the first policy engagement workshop.
In this first period, the coordination ensured to put in place a smooth and efficient monitoring of the project’s progress through regular ExCom Meetings and the organization of consortium meeting events (Kick Off, Annual Meeting). It oversaw the transfer of the prefunding, signature of the CA and coordinated the submission of the deliverables and of the first reporting period. As agreed by the General Assembly, Obelisk applied to the Hop-On Facility in view of adding a new partner to the consortium Dr Sumara from the NENCKI Institute to improve Obelisk’s scientific excellence.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project is currently in its initial phase, with implementation activities actively progressing; preliminary outcomes are anticipated in the near future.