Research
PANACEA
Physical Activity, Nutrition, Alcohol, Cessation of smoking, Eating out of home And obesity
In Europe, obesity is a major underlying risk factor for the most common chronic diseases such as coronary vascular disease, diabetes and some types of cancer. It is estimated that if current increasing trends continue, obesity may become the second most serious health threat in the Western world behind tobacco smoke.
The general objective of the PANACEA project is to identify and describe what factors determine weight, weight changes and obesity. The study will also try to identify information on the behavioural habits of people with obesity. The determinants of weight and weight changes that will be more specifically investigated are:
- physical activity
- nutrition
- alcohol
- cessation of smoking
- eating out of home.
The MRC Epidemiology Unit is the leader on the physical activity elements of PANACEA. We are looking at measuring physical activity and investigating the associations of physical inactivity with obesity. We are also looking at the relationship between physical activity and weight changes over time.
It is hoped that the information from the investigations in PANACEA will enable the development of specific recommendations and guidelines for the prevention of obesity in Europe.
PANACEA uses data collected as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), co-financed by the European Commission. This data is from 520,000 European men and women aged 35 to 70 years from 24 geographically different areas in 11 different countries.
For more information about PANACEA visit their website at www.epicnl.eu.
