Funding outcome

More than 400 million children and adolescents are overweight or obese in the world and this is associated with inflammation and immune dysfunction. These are risk factors for developing infections, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a fatty acid mainly found in fish. It can also be obtained from fortified foods and supplements. Breast milk is another source of DHA early in life. Studies have found that consuming DHA and other healthy fats improves immune function, reduces inflammation, and slows down fat gain. Early life (childhood and adolescence) are important periods for immune development and fat gain. We are proposing to determine if increasing dietary intake of DHA (alone or with other healthy fats) after infancy can reduce these early negative changes in immune health and fat gain. We propose to use a high-fat diet-fed animal model to induce obesity. We will 1) measure body weight and the fat gain under the skin and around the major organs and assess the inflammation status in blood and fat tissues; 2) study immune system function; and 3) explore some molecules that might explain the diet effects on immune function, inflammation, and fat gain. This work will provide initial findings on the possible benefits of adding these fatty acids to the diet of young children and adolescents to support healthy immune development and fat gain.