Tag: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Metabolic Reprogramming of White Blood Cells Controls Inflammation in Fat
Researchers in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health have found that it is possible to control inflammation in fat tissue by manipulating the presence of a specific metabolic protein in a type of white blood cell called a macrophage. This metabolic reprogramming may provide a crucial strategy for weakening the link between obesity and illnesses such as diabetes. This research is the topic of a study by the lab of Liza Makowski, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition at the Gillings School and lead author of a new paper about the findings. Makowski also is a member of the … Read More »
Categories: News, Publications Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillImplementing Global Policy to Prevent Obesity
With myriad studies suggesting a link between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and obesity and cardiac problems, a critical need exists to guide people toward better dietary choices. UNC’s Global Food Research Program (GFRP), housed at the Carolina Population Center, is a world leader in collaborating with countries and communities to design and evaluate large-scale regulatory efforts. The impact of work by program director Barry M. Popkin, PhD, and colleagues can be seen in countries from Chile to China. In 2011, Mexico, where coronary artery disease and diabetes are the two leading causes of death, had the largest per-capita … Read More »
Categories: News Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillNIH Extends Funding for UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center Through Second Decade
The UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) will receive a $5.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund another five years of research. The award is the fourth time NIH has provided five-year funding for the center. “We are proud that the NIH has selected UNC as one of 12 centers of excellence in research, recognizing that our nutrition and obesity research is among the best in the country,” said Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD, Kenan Distinguished Professor of nutrition and pediatrics. Zeisel also is co-director of NORC and of UNC’s Nutrition Research Institute, located in Kannapolis, … Read More »
Categories: News Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillConsistency of a Mobile Body Composition Trailer: A Novel Portable Laboratory Assessment?
Despite the physical demands of firefighting, several recent studies have reported that greater than 75% of all current and new firefighter recruits are overweight and/or obese. Research also suggests that obesity had a significant impact on lower back muscular endurance. Eric Ryan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Exercise and Sport Science, and his research team recently completed a feasibility study with the Kannapolis Fire Department using the UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center’s mobile body composition trailer. The purpose of this study was to assess the test–retest reliability and minimum difference values of air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) and the Siri 3-compartment (3-C) model in … Read More »
Categories: Featured News, News, Publications Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HilleHealth Researcher Spotlight: Temitope Erinosho
THRIVE for Health Taking center stage this month is the wonderful Dr. Temitope Erinosho, Research Assistant Professor of Nutrition at UNC, and her innovative approach to obesity and cancer risk prevention in children from low-income families. Currently, she is developing a family-based life skills intervention (THRIVE for Health) to help low-income parents develop psychosocial skills to better navigate their daily challenges and promote healthy weight behaviors in their preschool aged children. Dr. Erinosho has been working with CHAI Core to complete the formative phase of her study, Understanding concerns, needs, and challenges of low-income parents of preschool children aged 3-5 … Read More »
Categories: Researcher Spotlight Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUNC Human Research Core Invites Nutrigenomic Research to the NC Research Campus
Even though hundreds of study participants and numerous researchers have taken advantage of the Human Research Core in the UNC Nutrition Research Institute, it is one of the best kept secrets on the NC Research Campus (NCRC) in Kannapolis, NC. But now that Jomari Torres, MD, is the medical director, the HRC will not be a secret for long, especially to those interested in conducting nutrigenomic studies. Torres joined the NRI earlier this year to promote the services and capabilities of the HRC to companies, medical practitioners and researchers on and off the NCRC. Her job is made easier by the … Read More »
Categories: News Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillServing up ‘Food for All” at UNC
As far as steering committee co-chairs Marcie Cohen Ferris, PhD, and Alice Ammerman, DrPH, are concerned, UNC’s food theme is [pardon the pun] organic to the campus. “We don’t see this as something we are doing to the campus,” said Ammerman, who is professor of nutrition at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and director of the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. “[Rather,] it’s the campus rising up together and getting inspired by the theme and each other, crossing disciplines and working side-by-side with the community.” This past spring, Chancellor Carol L. Folt announced the University’s … Read More »
Categories: News Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HilleHealth Researcher Spotlight: Dianne Ward & Laura Linnan
CARE: Caring and Reaching for Health A Worksite Wellness Program for Child Care Staff UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s dynamic duo, Dianne Ward, Professor of Nutrition, and Laura Linnan, Professor of Health Behavior, have teamed up on a worksite wellness study called CARE: Caring and Reaching for Health. The 5-year NIH funded study (Co-PIs Ward and Linnan) will enroll ~100 child care centers and over 400 workers to evaluate the efficacy of a 6-month intervention to increase workers’ physical activity and other health related behaviors (Healthy Lifestyles) compared to a control arm (Healthy Finances), which will receive a parallel … Read More »
Categories: Researcher Spotlight Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillWhat it Takes to Get People to Adopt Healthier Behaviors
Deborah Tate wants not only to help people battle obesity but those just trying to stay healthy. She works at the intersection of diet, exercise, research and technology. Dr. Tate is the Core Director for the UNC NORC’s CHAI Core. She is a cognitive-behavioral psychologist whose primary interests lie in obesity prevention, treatment and behavioral interventions. She has developed and evaluated several of the first randomized trials using the Internet, e-mail and other online technologies to deliver behavioral treatments for obesity. She also continues to conduct a series of studies to determine which features of Internet weight control programs contribute … Read More »
Categories: Videos Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillCholine in Pregnancy – Video Abstract with Dr. Steven Zeisel
This is a video abstract of the expert opinion paper “Nutrition in pregnancy: the argument for including a source of choline” published in the open access International Journal of Women’s Health by Dr. Steven H. Zeisel, co-director of the UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center. Abstract: Women, during pregnancy and lactation, should eat foods that contain adequate amounts of choline. A mother delivers large amounts of choline across the placenta to the fetus, and after birth she delivers large amounts of choline in milk to the infant; this greatly increases the demand on the choline stores of the mother. Read the … Read More »
Categories: Publications, Videos Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill