Cincinnati researchers are studying aspects of obesity that have far-reaching health impact. Researchers are looking for causes and cures. Among the studies:

        • Procter & Gamble and the University of Cincinnati's obesity research center are in the midst of a multiyear project studying how the body controls weight and appetite. They hope to develop foods, over-the-counter products or prescription drugs to prevent excessive weight gain. The project, which has identified a “nutrient system” that could slow appetite if taken before meals and has found one of several ways the body signals the brain that it has had enough food, was awarded a $6 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health in November.

        • Also at the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Susan McElroy, a psychiatrist, is one of the researchers studying the link between depression and binge eating. Mood and eating disorders are closely linked, and it's very common to find “deranged eating behavior” in people suffering from mood disorders, Dr. McElroy says. Controlling serotonin levels with prescription medication seems to help shut off the urge to overeat, she says. She recommends people with chronic weight problems be evaluated for mood disorders.

        • The Princeton Study, headed up by Dr. John Morrison, an epidemiologist and associate professor of pediatrics in Children's Hospital Medical Center's division of cardiology, studied youngsters in the Princeton School District to determine patterns of weight gain and loss over a 20-year period. Researchers are bringing back those families to look at patterns and identify what's changed. Their determination: Children's lack of activity, not their eating habits or food intake, is the real culprit in the increase in childhood obesity.

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