New NIH-funded study focuses on emerging adult women’s health
The 3-year grant, funded by The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), aims to redefine obesity treatment.
Dr. Jessica G. LaRose of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences has received a 3 year grant from the NIDDK for her new study, “Redefining BMI: Body, Mind, Inflammation Project.” This grant is the first since the School of Population Health’s inception in 2023 to involve collaborators from all four school departments: Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Policy, and Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS). Serving as Co-Investigators on the project are Dr. Autumn Lanoye (affiliate faculty in SBS), Dr. Robert Perera (Associate Professor of Biostatistics), Dr. Chrisa Arcan (Associate Professor of Epidemiology), and Dr. Anika Hines (Assistant Professor of Health Policy).
The Body, Mind, Inflammation Project is a randomized clinical trial to test the preliminary efficacy of an integrated lifestyle intervention targeting proinflammatory behaviors and psychological function on adiposity and biomarkers of inflammation and cardiometabolic disease among emerging adult women, compared to a developmentally adapted behavioral obesity treatment program.
Behavioral obesity treatment (i.e. lifestyle intervention) has long been considered the gold standard for first line treatment for obesity, but emerging adult women do not receive meaningful clinical benefit from existing programs. Behavioral obesity treatment is very narrow in its focus – it usually centers only on eating and physical activity with minimal attention to broader context and other drivers of health outcomes. Even when it does promote clinically meaningful reductions in adiposity, sustaining those changes over time is difficult. This intervention includes consideration of other factors like stress, which is more marked in emerging adult women than in any other population, particularly women of color, who are often exposed to discrimination.
“We’re focused on serving a diverse group of emerging adult women because this population is placed at very high risk, yet traditional programs have failed them,” says Dr. LaRose. “Previous research suggests that emerging adult women in particular receive less treatment benefit relative to men – and historically Black and Latina women receive the least benefit from extant programs.”
For this population of emerging adult women, Dr. LaRose has reconceptualized the typical way of thinking about lifestyle intervention. The focus is not simply on eating less and moving more, but on specific target factors: diet quality (specifically processed food intake, fruit/vegetable intake, alcohol intake), sleep (timing and regularity as well as duration and quality), physical activity, depressive symptoms, and stress. These target factors all spike during the emerging adult developmental period, and are all pro-inflammatory. “We’re really trying to change the narrative and take a more holistic approach to overall health to improve outcomes for this population,” LaRose explains. “We’re focusing on behavioral and psychological factors that promote inflammation and getting rid of calorie goals altogether.” Dr. LaRose’s intervention teaches core psychological strategies for managing stress and mood, and measures the outcomes in terms of inflammation and cardiometabolic health markers found in blood and urine. The study tests this approach compared to a traditional behavioral obesity treatment, to see if it promotes greater improvements in those markers of health in addition to also improving mental health.
“Existing data clearly show that we aren’t serving this population well and we certainly aren’t promoting equitable treatment benefit with existing programs,” says LaRose. “I hope this work serves not only to advance the science of behavioral obesity treatment, but also as a critical step to providing more holistic, effective, and equitable care for women during this unique point in the developmental lifespan.”
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