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Partnership in Weight Research

At the MGH Weight Center, we believe that treatments for obesity that are safe and effective will be discovered only through ongoing research to find the answers to these and other questions. To do so, we invite all of our patients to become our partners in this research effort, by joining "Partnership in Weight Research" (PWR). Patients who choose to join help the research effort by making clinical information available (anonymously) for research. They are also eligible to participate in a number of current and future research projects, which include trials of new drugs to combat obesity, and studies examining the genetic and physical factors affecting appetite and fat metabolism.

To be automatically notified of future research studies please complete the research contact form.

The MGH Weight Center is dedicated to providing compassionate, comprehensive care for obesity and its related medical problems. While the number of Americans affected by obesity has been increasing rapidly, so has the scientific understanding of the disorder. Obesity is a complex problem, caused by a variety of influences, which may vary between individuals. Important influences include diet, lifestyle, and mood, hormonal changes in the body, and also heritable, or genetic influences. While much has been learned about how these factors work together to affect body weight, there are many important questions left unanswered - among these are:

• Why is weight loss through diet and lifestyle change so difficult, and even more difficult to maintain?
• How do the hormonal influences affecting body weight and blood sugar differ between people -why does diabetes appear in some people who are overweight and not in others?
• What genes cause some people to gain weight more easily than others, and make it harder for these "easy gainers" to lose weight?
• What do these genes do to the body, and are there nutritional changes or medications that can block their action?

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