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NWO and European funding for research into the cause of obesity
Could contaminants cause obesity?
Can prenatal exposure to contaminants in our food have an effect on young and unborn babies? Is there a link between these substances and health problems later in life such as obesity? Juliette Legler, researcher at the VU University Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), is coordinating the OBELIX project as part of a European-wide research campaign in the field of health. Legler was also recently awarded a VIDI grant by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) to enable her to widen the scope of her study using a new test model for humans: the zebrafish.
OBELIX stands for “Obesogenic Endocrine disrupting chemicals: Linking prenatal exposure to the development of obesity later in life.” Legler´s research focuses on contaminants in foods. These substances are called “endocrine disrupting chemicals”, (EDCs). EDCs mimic hormones, which has been shown to have a negative effect on human reproduction. Researchers now suspect that EDCs also contribute to the on-set of obesity, but have yet to discover to what extent. Examples of EDCs include: dioxins, toxic chemicals in plastics, brominated flame retardants in electronic equipment and so-called perfluorinated compounds in food packaging. EDCs consumed during pregnancy could have harmful effects on the unborn child. Previous studies have already indicated a link between obesity and the intake of EDCs at a young age.
The OBELIX study is being conducted throughout four European regions; its target group is children up to the age of eight. The project has received €2.99 million worth of funding for the next four years. The OBELIX multidisciplinary team of researchers will gather new knowledge on the concentrations of EDCs in children and study the possible effects. NWO is also financing a complementary study led by Legler. She has received €800,000 to fund laboratory research into whether EDCs lead to obesity and the effects that chemicals have at a molecular and cellular level. For the NWO study, Legler is using zebrafish, whose embryonic stages display many similarities to those of humans. Using zebrafish offers the advantage of being able to test a considerably higher amount of contaminants in a shorter period of time.
The OBELIX team comprises researchers from IVM, VU University’s Institute of Health Sciences, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Ecobaby Foundation (NL), French National Institute for Agricultural Research (Met@risk) and the Slovak Medical University.
