DioGenes project addresses European obesity

The project aims at understanding the dietary and genetic factors influencing obesity and developing preventive and treatment measures.

18/03/05 The worrying obesity rise trend has forced the scientific community to expand its research efforts using a wide variety of innovative approaches. The recently approved European project 'DiOGenes' (Diet, Obesitas and Genes) aims to be such an innovative effort. The project aims at understanding the dietary and genetic factors influencing obesity and developing preventive and treatment measures. It includes all those disciplines and stakeholders who can contribute to achieving a better understanding how this disease can be prevented and treated from the dietary perspective.

Food technology plays an important role. DiOGenes includes food technology studies to develop food preferred by consumers but at the same time enhanced with satiety signals that limits intake. This requires a combination of skills and disciplines seldom found in industry and science.

Dutch based NIZO food research will focus on the role of aroma in satiety mechanisms, using its recently acquired state of the art olfactometer to carefully administer aroma stimuli to the consumers under study. By being able to administer aroma separately from other stimuli (such as different ingredients, textures and tastes) NIZO will be able to investigate the relative importance of aroma stimuli for satiety.