News Article

October 20, 2009

DGHI Obesity Prevention Study to Launch Next Month

Duke Global Health Institute Faculty Member Gary Bennett will lead new research that targets overweight African-American women in the Piedmont.

The year-long study called Shape was inspired by recent figures from the Journal of the American Medical Association  showing that more than half of the adult black female population is obese.
Project leaders will recruit at least 200 African-American women who live in the Piedmont and are between the ages of 25 and 45. The study may later expand out to include all women in this age group.

Bennett says obesity has become a serious public health issue in North Carolina and elsewhere, and more must be done to help women dodge serious chronic conditions, including Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, as a result of being overweight or obese.

Watch this short video with Dr. Gary Bennett and Project Coordinator Erica Levine to learn more about the Shape obesity prevention program.