Grant: Fellowship - PA: Regional Partnership Program - Newfoundland & Labrador

Obesity is a rising health problem worldwide and is considered an important risk factor associated to chronic diseases including type II diabetes, stroke, cancer and cardiovascular disorders, among others. It is believed to be largely due to western-style diet suppressing the mechanisms that control food intake in the brain. In addition, a diet rich in fat induces inflammation of brain and other tissues. However, it remains unclear how the inflammatory events modulates the appetite control centers. Therefore, I will test the hypothesis that high fat diet induces an inflammatory response in the brain that lead to overfeeding behavior and consequent weight gain. Mice will be fed with high fat diet for different length of time to investigate the inflammatory response in different brain areas and how the inflammation influences body weight and food intake control mechanisms. Understanding the mechanisms by which high fat diet modulates food intake would allow development of strategies that could be applied for obesity treatments.