OKLAHOMA CITY (June 8, 2023) - A $1 million grant to the TSET Health Promotion Research Center will help stimulate research on the complex factors that lead to obesity, its impact on the body and new treatments or tools in managing it. The TSET Board of Directors approved the grant funding Thursday.
The HPRC has built an internationally recognized research program, training center and laboratory focused on understanding tobacco-related diseases, treatment and risk factors and developing new methods in tobacco prevention and cessation. This new initiative will expand the scope of the HPRC’s work into obesity.
Along with tobacco use, obesity contributes to the four leading causes preventable deaths in our state: heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and cancer.
“Our work focuses on helping Oklahomans live healthier lives. One way we can continue to innovate our efforts in grants and programs is better understand the complexity of obesity,” said Julie Bisbee, executive director of TSET. “Obesity represents a serious threat to public health similar to tobacco use, and TSET is proud to partner on efforts to increase research in Oklahoma and addressing this epidemic.”
Oklahoma ranks 4th in the nation for adult obesity, and 14th for childhood obesity. Nearly one-third of Oklahoma children are at an unhealthy weight. Studies show that children who are obese are more likely to experience obesity as adults.
“The prevalence of obesity has increased at an alarming rate in Oklahoma and across the world,” said Dr. Michael Businelle, co-director of the HPRC. “This expansion will enable us to identify specific risk factors for obesity in Oklahomans and support the development of new methods to prevent and treat the condition.”
The problem also represents an economic burden to the state. Obesity-related health conditions and diseases cost the state around $1.1 billion in expenditures each year.
In June 2022, the Oklahoma State Department of Health released a statewide obesity plan outlining the goal of reducing childhood obesity by 3% and adult obesity by 1% by 2026. This expansion into obesity research at the HPRC will complement the state’s obesity plan.
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The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. To learn more, go to Oklahoma.gov/TSET.