Project description
What causes weight loss variability?
Obesity is a major health issue, and despite treatments weight reduction results are quite variable. Weight change and obesity treatment outcomes are influenced by various factors that involve psychosocial, environmental, behavioural, biological and life quality parameters. Integration of these multifaceted influences into a framework offers a comprehensive model for their in-depth understanding. Funded by the European Research Council, the OBECAUSE project aims to further consolidate and validate these measures. Researchers will investigate potential genetic variants that impact weight change and develop an intervention toolbox in the form of a commercial weight loss application. The work has the potential to enhance behavioural health science and pave the way towards improved obesity management.
Objective
Obesity is a heritable chronic condition, costing 2% GDP worldwide. Many obesity treatments - behavioural, pharmacological, and surgical have been developed. Intriguingly, people’s responses to treatments vary widely - some may lose a lot of weight whereas others may even gain weight! To predict such weight change variability, close to 200 measures have been proposed in the past. The measures can be organised into a PEBBL framework across five domains – Psychosocial, Environment, Behavioural, Biology, and Life quality. Still, there are too many measures to be used as predictors or intervention targets. To move the field forward, we propose a novel 3-step OBECAUSE pipeline consisting of consolidation, genomic causation, and validation. 1) In consolidation, we will use machine learning to find best-predicting PEBBL measures in several large-scale weight loss datasets. The PEBBL measures will be integrated into a new PEBBL short questionnaire with wide coverage and good psychometric properties. The questionnaire will be then distributed to all participants of Estonian Biobank to study the genomics of PEBBL. 2) For genomic causation, we will detect genetic variants behind PEBBL measures and weight change. Knowing these variants enables discovering additions to the PEBBL framework through genetic correlations and functional mapping. Importantly, as genetic variants are randomised through genetic lottery, they enable systematic causal mapping of PEBBL measures that have causal effects on weight change. 3) For validation, these causal measures will be used as inputs to design an OBECAUSE toolbox of weight loss interventions. The value of these interventions will be tested in a commercial weight loss app. In summary, the OBECAUSE pipeline of narrowing scattered associations down to potential causal mechanisms with machine learning and genomic causal inference will set a new standard for the behavioural health sciences allowing for quicker discovery of intervention targets.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition obesity
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
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51005 Tartu
Estonia
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