Research Priorities

AACORN's examination of obesity research agenda issues began in 2003 in conjunction with the Think Tank on Enhancing Obesity Research at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The assessment was subsequently expanded to take into account the overall NIH strategic plan for obesity research, literature reviews and descriptions of ongoing studies. In identifying priorities, AACORN considered the quality, quantity, focus, and contextual relevance of published research relevant to obesity prevention and treatment in African American adults and children.

Fifteen recommended research priorities were identified and represented in five categories adapted from the NHLBI Think Tank proceedings: health effects, social and environmental context, prevention and treatment, research methods and research training and funding. These recommendations from an African American perspective build on and reinforce certain aspects of the NHLBI and overall NIH research agendas by providing more specific rationale and directions on areas for enhancement in the type of research being done or in the conceptualization and implementation of the research.¹

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¹Kumanyika SK, Gary TL, Lancaster KJ, Samuel-Hodge CD, Banks-Wallace J, Beech BM, Hughes-Halbert C, Karanja N, Odoms-Young AM, Prewitt TE, Whitt-Glover MC. Achieving healthy weight in African-American communities: research perspectives and priorities. Obes Res. 2005; 13:2037-47. Click to download the article (PDF format).

See the NHLBI Think Tank Report:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/obesity/ob_res_exsum/