NSF Award
2316163
A growing body of evidence suggests that some individuals have metabolically healthy obesity, with a high body mass index and excess body fat, but without many of the ill-effects often associated with obesity, such as poor cardiovascular health or an increased risk of developing diabetes. Recently, it has also been suggested that cold climate populations may be more likely to have metabolically healthy obesity because of cold climate adaptations that impact body size, shape and composition, as well as metabolic function. This study examines how cold climate adaptations affect cardiometabolic health among individuals representing traditional and non-traditional livelihoods that vary in cold exposure and other factors. The research provides a more comprehensive understanding of the interactions between biology and behavior in extremely cold environments and in the context of climate change. Insights gained from this project also have the potential to inform research on the assessment, treatment, and monitoring of metabolic diseases regularly associated with obesity. The research program actively includes the participating communities in research design, implementation, and dissemination, and research is incorporated into undergraduate and graduate curricula at the University of Notre Dame. The research team has a robust outreach plan on local, national, and international scales through the use of individual participant reports, a website, workshops, public talks, podcasts, a museum exhibit, conference presentations, and peer-reviewed publications.<br/><br/>The project has the following aims: 1) assess the range of resting metabolic rate variation and drivers among different cold climate livelihoods; 2) assess the range of brown adipose tissue activity, metabolic substrate utilization, and the impact of developmental cold exposure; 3) assess behavioral cold climate coping mechanisms including clothing, diet, and physical activity; and 4) assess if individuals with greater cold climate adaptation expression exhibit better cardiometabolic health. The research team measures height, weight, body composition (fat mass and muscle mass), resting metabolic rate, brown adipose tissue activation (using metabolic rate measurements and thermal imaging), biomarkers of metabolic health (e.g., cholesterol and glucose), thyroid hormone levels, activity levels, dietary intake, blood pressure, and behavioral and cultural means for mitigating the cold and climate change.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
