Annual Report 2007 - Top-Ranked
Top-Ranked Department Focuses on Diet, Exercise
With obesity and heart disease taking a toll on health care systems worldwide, research at UConn’s top-ranked Department of Kinesiology is uncovering how a diet low in carbohydrates may benefit dieters and prevent diabetes and heart disease.
Thanks to a three-year, $450,000 grant from the Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation, Associate Professor Jeffrey Volek, Ph.D., R.D. is focusing on human studies that compare the Atkins diet to traditional low-fat plans, identifying the effects and risks for heart disease and diabetes among those following a low-carbohydrate regimen.
Volek’s team has used a portion of the funds to enhance capabilities for measuring risk factors and the benefits of low-carbohydrate diets. In one recent study, despite a three-fold higher intake of dietary saturated fat, subjects following the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet showed lower saturated fatty acids in the bloodstream compared to those consuming a low-fat diet. Volek’s studies also show that health benefits of low-carb diets are not dependent on weight loss.
“Our work indicates that the potential harmful effects of dietary fat are dependent on the carbohydrate level—if carbs are low, dietary fat is handled much more efficiently. This represents a paradigm shift in our understanding,” he says.
His work, and that of the entire Department of Kinesiology, crosses many academic and University disciplines. Part of the Neag School of Education, the department works closely with the Department of Nutritional Sciences, the Division of Athletics, private companies and many other partners in enhancing health through diet or exercise. The department has the top-ranked doctoral kinesiology program in the country, according to the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education.
Volek also holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He says diet and exercise go hand-in-hand—after all, exercisers have to eat. Through collaborations with nutritional sciences, he’s gaining a much better picture of the importance of proper diet and exercise.
This interdisciplinary approach is deeply engrained throughout his work with other collaborators with expertise in diabetes, weight training, genetically customized diets and other areas.
“As knowledge continues to expand exponentially, the important health questions we ask now are so complex that you need a multidisciplinary team of experts to carry out these projects,” Volek says. “Collaborations at UConn are force multipliers that add scientific depth and expertise and will keep us on the cutting edge of nutrition research.”
