'Smart Food' - The fulcrum in the energy balance equation

The overall aim of the project is to establish how nutrients best promote an increase in energy expenditure and therefore weight loss. The experiments will be performed in rats using sophisticated technologies to introduce specific combinations of fats, carbohydrates or proteins directly into the stomach and then measure energy expenditure in a specialized type of energy burning rather than energy storing fat called brown adipose tissue. These experiments will uncover the mechanisms that relate nutrients in the stomach and activation of brown adipose tissue. They will provide a framework on which we can build a knowledge of smart diets that will allow the effective control of body weight through modulation of energy expenditure.