Grant: Master's Award - PA: RPP - Newfoundland and Labrador

The present-day obesity epidemic is an immediate health concern for nations globally as the increased prevalence of obesity is associated with conditions including type two diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This is of importance to the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, as it has one of the greatest obesity rates in the country. The new concept of "food addiction" suggests that food can induce an addictive process, similar to drugs of abuse, and therefore lead to food overconsumption. Food addiction in humans can be assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale. We hypothesis that obesity with food addiction is a specific subgroup of human obesity and this subgroup has unique hormonal features which influence appetite (in the gut and brain). Therefore, our research objective was to: 1) observe the percentage of Newfoundlanders who are classified as food addicted in the obese and general populations; and 2) compare blood concentrations of appetite-regulating hormones between obese food addicted subjects and obese non-food addicted subjects (as well with healthy controls). The ongoing CIHR-funded Complex Diseases in the Newfoundland Population: Environment and Genetics (CODING) Study will be used for the proposed project (500 current and 500 newly recruited participants). All participants will be administered the YFAS. Additionally, body fat will be measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Blood samples will be taken to determine levels of various hormones involved with appetite and metabolism, and these hormones will be measured using technology provided in the lab. We feel our study is highly novel and very feasible. We hope to define a new subgroup of obese patients (obesity with food addiction) by the group's unique appetite-regulating hormonal characteristics. By isolating this distinct subgroup of common obesity, it will help to better elucidate treatment and prevention plans to improve overall health status.