Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging
Project Number: 8050-51000-105-001-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 22, 2019
End Date: May 30, 2024
Objective:
Objective 1: Determine nutritional factors, including meal patterns and novel dietary composition factors (e.g., types of dietary fiber and salt), that influence adherence to calorie restriction regimens to improve weight regulation and reduce metabolic aging.
Sub-objective 1A: Identify significant dietary and biobehavioral predictors of weight, body fat change, and adherence to a calorie restriction regimen.
Sub-objective 1B: Determine the effects of changing from a typical (high) to a
recommended (low) level of dietary sodium on energy regulation in adults.
Objective 2: Evaluate the effectiveness, sustainability, and acceptability of different approaches to weight control and prevention of obesity in diverse adult population groups.
Objective 3: Develop new methodology for improving the accuracy and precision of
assessment of energy and nutrient intake in adults.
Objective 4: Identify positive and negative influences of specific food culture parameters, including attitudes to healthy food and external pressures to overeat, on energy regulation and risk of obesity in different population groups.
Approach:
The mission of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory is to understand the effects of lifestyle factors and dietary composition on energy metabolism and weight regulation, and extend our research to underserved and global populations. Our research examines dietary and behavioral variables that influence both energy intake and metabolism throughout the adult lifecycle, and our focus is to develop and test effective lifestyle interventions for implementing sustainable, healthy weight control at all ages while continuing to advance the science of nutrition and energy regulation. Studies in our laboratory include in-depth biological
examinations of the impact of different dietary factors on energy regulation and body composition, development of new approaches to tracking dietary intake, and randomized controlled trials testing practical interventions that can be scaled for population-wide benefits in different population groups.
