NIDDK

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is one of 27 institutes and centers within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) focused on reducing the burden of disease and improving public health. The NIDDK conducts and supports basic, translational, and clinical research in a number of areas including diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), kidney and urologic diseases, liver and digestive diseases, hematologic diseases, nutritional disorders, weight control, and obesity. In addition to supporting and conducting research, the NIDDK provides research training and mentoring opportunities and disseminates knowledge through outreach and communications programs. The NIDDK serves as the government's lead agency for obesity research.

The NIH Obesity Research Task Force was established in 2003 to coordinate obesity-related research across the institutes. The Task Force is cochaired by [Page 501]directors from the NIDDK and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI) and includes representatives from the other NIH institutes. The Task Force, with the help of representatives from other NIH institutes, external scientists, and members of the public, developed the Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research, released in 2004. This dynamic multidimensional plan for addressing obesity represents a collaborative effort between the NIH, other federal agencies, public and private organizations, and community members. It provides a guide for coordinating clinical and population-based obesity-related research activities across NIH institutes.

The plan's strategic goals are organized into four areas. The first, research toward preventing and treating obesity through lifestyle modification, is intended to identify behavioral and environmental factors contributing to childhood and adult obesity and to test potential intervention strategies. The second, research toward preventing and treating obesity through pharmacologic, surgical, and other medical approaches, is designed to illuminate molecules and biological pathways responsible for regulating fat storage, appetite, and the balance between energy intake and expenditure. The third theme, breaking the link between obesity and associated health conditions, encompasses research to understand biological connections between obesity and health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The fourth theme, cross-cutting research topics, includes technology, translational research (translating basic and clinical research results into practical applications), education and outreach efforts, and research on health disparities.

Additionally, as part of the Strategic Plan, the NIDDK supports several clinical research centers with complementary objectives. Clinical Nutrition Research Units (CNRUs) and Obesity/Nutrition Research Centers (ONRCs) located at university-based centers throughout the country, conduct basic, clinical, multidisciplinary, and translational research on obesity, eating disorders, and weight management. Specifically, CNRUs integrate research, educational, and service activities related to human nutrition, health, and disease, and engage in interdisciplinary research.

ONRCs are sponsored by both federal and nonfederal agencies and provide coordinated support for interdisciplinary research through the provision of funding for facilities and staff shared across projects. Specific goals of ONRCs include, among others, creating and strengthening multidisciplinary biomedical research in obesity and nutrition; developing new knowledge about the development, treatment, and prevention of obesity; and understanding and treating disease and disorders related to energy metabolism and imbalance.

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