UH Cancer Center Studies Ways to Reduce Abdominal Fat to Lower Cancer Risk

University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center researchers for The Healthy Diet and Lifestyle Study II, Loïc Le Marchand and Carol Boushey, are seeking participants on O‘ahu to help answer a question that has an impact on everyone: could specific changes in dietary habits, along with a regular physical activity plan, affect the amount of fat stored in your abdomen and the rest of your body to reduce disease risk?

“This study offers O‘ahu residents an opportunity to lose some weight and get in shape under the guidance of an experienced team of dietitians specially trained for the study,” Boushey said in a press release.

The first Healthy Diet and Lifestyle Study developed an intermittent energy restriction diet and showed its potential for reducing intra-abdominal fat and modifying the gut microbiome to be more healthy. The second study is an expanded, 24-week, randomized trial to compare two different energy restrictive diets to reduce intra-abdominal and total body fat — and potentially reduce risks of certain chronic diseases related to being overweight or obese.

Findings from this study will provide information about what diet is better at reducing intra-abdominal fat and total body fat and whether the gut microbiome plays a role. The information could also provide an approach to reducing risk of chronic diseases related to excessive weight gain during adulthood.

For more information about the study, call 808-237-3901 or email hdls2@cc.hawaii.edu.