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It is the mission of the Virginia Tech
Research magazine to:
• report significant achievements in language that is
generally accessible;
• assist the reader in understanding higher
education's role in research, including the
opportunities provided to graduate and undergraduate
students;
• convey the crucial role university research plays
in society; and
• inform business, industry, and government agencies
about Virginia Tech's research capabilities and about
new technologies and scholarship created by university
faculty members and students.
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Obesity is a critical health issue, being targeted by the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) and the Institute for Biomedical and Public Health Sciences
at Virginia Tech. This issue of Virginia Tech Research features three
articles about research at Virginia Tech to understand the health impact
of obesity and to treat it. Pamela Starke-Reed, deputy director at NIH,
spoke to researchers at last year's Virginia-Maryland Regional College
of Veterinary Medicine's research symposium, which focused on obesity,
urging interdisciplinary efforts and inviting proposals to NIH units.
In this introduction she explains the national initiative.
Obesity research at the NIH
The NIH has taken on one of the nation's most dramatic health challenges:
obesity. The most recent figures show that
— 65 percent of U.S. adults, or 130 million people, are either overweight
or obese. Nearly 31 percent of all adults, more than 61 million people,
meet the criteria for obesity.
— In the past two decades, obesity and overweight have risen in the
population in general, and the greatest increases have been in the severely
obese, who are at greatest risk for serious health problems.
— The number of overweight children has tripled in the past three decades,
with approximately 16 percent of all children and teens ages 6 to 19
being overweight.
— Obesity disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority populations,
and those of lower socioeconomic status.
Obesity is a strong risk factor for such serious diseases as type 2 diabetes
and heart disease; it is also a risk factor for certain cancers and is
associated with depression and other medical conditions. In addition to
decreasing quality of life and increasing the risk of premature death,
obesity and overweight will cost the United States an estimated $117 billion
in direct medical costs and indirect costs, such as lost wages. Left unabated,
the escalating rates of obesity in the U.S. population will place a severe
burden on the nation's health and its health care system.
On the surface it may seem that the solution to the obesity problem is
to tell people just to eat less. If only it were that simple. Obesity
is complex and requires multiple approaches. The obesity epidemic arises
from a complex interplay of behavioral, sociocultural, economic, and environmental
factors with a backdrop of genetic and other biological factors.
With the multiplicity of factors involved in the obesity epidemic, the
NIH cannot solve this health problem on its own; however, NIH can be a
key contributor to solving the obesity problem. NIH Director Elias Zerhouni
commented in 2003, "Given the relevance of obesity-associated morbidities
to the missions of most or all NIH institutes and centers, along with
new scientific opportunities for research, the NIH clearly can and must
play a major role in addressing the increasingly severe obesity epidemic
and its serious implications for public health." In April of that
year he established the NIH Obesity Research Task Force (ORTF) to facilitate
progress in obesity research. The task force is co-chaired by the directors
of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute
of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Members include representatives
from 19 institutes or centers.
The NIH ORTF has generated a cohesive set of goals for NIH-supported
obesity research as a fundamental planning tool: the Strategic Plan for
NIH Obesity Research. The goals represent a broad spectrum of obesity-related
research, including molecular, genetic, behavioral, environmental, clinical,
and epidemiologic studies. This plan was implemented in fiscal year 2005
with major initiatives focused on such priorities as prevention of childhood
obesity in primary care settings, homes, schools, and community centers
- such as the work in Virginia's school districts by Elena Serrano and
Ruby Cox (which predates the NIH initiative), featured in this issue of
Virginia Tech Research.
The task force has stated that the challenges of today's obesity epidemic
are daunting, yet the discoveries emanating from previous research investments
offer unprecedented opportunities for new scientific research efforts
to help meet these challenges.
