There is little controversy that overweight and obesity are prevalent and pose myriad health, work and economic challenges for individuals and the population. While energy expenditure and physical activity, specifically, are integral components of energy balance and a healthy lifestyle, the dominant driver of weight gain is energy consumption. There are strong data documenting parallel trends for BMI, portion size and eating frequency. It is our view that these associations reflect dysfunctional feeding stemming from insensitivity or errors of signaling systems that underlie ingestive behavior. This grant seeks funds to train predoctoral students for the study of healthful and dysfunctional feeding to address the problem of obesity. Training will be highly interdisciplinary and coordinated through the Ingestive Behavior Research Center (IBRC) at Purdue University. The Center is comprised of approximately 56 faculty residing in twelve departments on the West Lafayette campus as well as researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM). They bring expertise in the areas of nutrition, food science, psychology, animal science, neurology, physiology, genetics, endocrinology, sensory science, anthropology and agricultural economics. The Center curriculum includes didactic training in biochemistry, physiology, controls of feeding in humans and animal models, research design, statistics and ethics. This is augmented by advanced specialty courses in the areas of sensory studies, infant and child feeding, aging, food science, neural systems and health policy. Students are also encouraged to take advantage of other available resources on campus such as courses, activities and research opportunities offered through the Public Health Program, Cancer Center, Agricultural Research Center and Women's Global Health Institute to name only a few. IBRC also hosts a biennial international conference on topics related to ingestive behavior that requires participation by trainees and supports a visiting scholars program and special topics course, both of which bring eminent researchers to campus to interact with the trainees. Funds from the prior training grant supported two trainees per year and, based on our experience, success and growing demand, we now request support for two trainees per year over the next five years (5 total trainees). Complementary support for trainees will be provided by funds from various federal agencies, the University, and private donations to the trainers. Providing predoctoral students training on the antecedents, consequences and management of dysfunction eating and the skills necessary to further understanding of related issues should hasten resolution of the overweight/obesity problem.

Public Health Relevance

Dysfunctional eating contributes to weight gain and obesity with resulting adverse impacts on health, quality of life, productivity and economics. Providing predoctoral students with the knowledge and skills to expand understanding and improve the management of dysfunctional ingestive behavior should hasten amelioration of overweight/obesity and its consequences.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
5T32DK076540-08
Application #
9115551
Study Section
Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Diseases D Subcommittee (DDK)
Program Officer
Densmore, Christine L
Project Start
2008-08-01
Project End
2019-07-31
Budget Start
2016-08-01
Budget End
2017-07-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Purdue University
Department
Nutrition
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
072051394
City
West Lafayette
State
IN
Country
United States
Zip Code
47907
Gwin, Jess A; Maki, Kevin C; Leidy, Heather J (2017) Increased Protein Consumption during the Day from an Energy-Restricted Diet Augments Satiety but Does Not Reduce Daily Fat or Carbohydrate Intake on a Free-Living Test Day in Overweight Women. J Nutr 147:2338-2346
Gifford, Cody L; O'Connor, Lauren E; Campbell, Wayne W et al. (2017) Broad and Inconsistent Muscle Food Classification Is Problematic for Dietary Guidance in the U.S. Nutrients 9:
Carreiro, Alicia L; Dhillon, Jaapna; Gordon, Susannah et al. (2016) The Macronutrients, Appetite, and Energy Intake. Annu Rev Nutr 36:73-103
D'Aquila, Theresa; Hung, Yu-Han; Carreiro, Alicia et al. (2016) Recent discoveries on absorption of dietary fat: Presence, synthesis, and metabolism of cytoplasmic lipid droplets within enterocytes. Biochim Biophys Acta 1861:730-47
Kim, Jung Eun; O'Connor, Lauren E; Sands, Laura P et al. (2016) Effects of dietary protein intake on body composition changes after weight loss in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutr Rev 74:210-24
Ludy, Mary-Jon; Moore, George E; Mattes, Richard D (2012) The effects of capsaicin and capsiate on energy balance: critical review and meta-analyses of studies in humans. Chem Senses 37:103-21
Ludy, Mary-Jon; Mattes, Richard D (2012) Comparison of sensory, physiological, personality, and cultural attributes in regular spicy food users and non-users. Appetite 58:19-27
Hargrave, Sara L; Kinzig, Kimberly P (2012) Repeated gastric distension alters food intake and neuroendocrine profiles in rats. Physiol Behav 105:975-81
Ludy, Mary-Jon; Mattes, Richard D (2011) The effects of hedonically acceptable red pepper doses on thermogenesis and appetite. Physiol Behav 102:251-8