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STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut's Neag School of Education has received a $450,000 gift from the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation to support groundbreaking nutrition research being conducted by members of its Department of Kinesiology.
The gift, which provides $150,000 for each of the next three academic years, recognizes the scientific contributions assistant professor of kinesiology Jeff Volek has made in the area of low-carbohydrate diets. It will enhance the research capabilities of the Department of Kinesiology's Human Performance Lab by providing additional funding for program support, graduate assistantships and equipment which will further the work of Volek and his colleagues.
For the past seven years, Volek, kinesiology Professor William Kraemer, and nutritional sciences Professor Maria-Luz Fernandez, have compared the effects of a carbohydrate-restricted diet and a standard low-fat diet on weight loss and a variety of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease. Volek has secured nearly $1 million in research grants to support this line of research, including two previous grants from the Atkins Foundation totaling more than $500,000.
Volek has found that a carbohydrate-restricted diet is considerably more effective than a low-fat diet in improving a host of cardiovascular risk factors, especially those associated with metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance syndrome. Although very low-carbohydrate diets had been viewed primarily as a weight loss tool and associated with concerns about heart disease due to potential high dietary fat intake, Volek's work has shown that carbohydrate restriction is beneficial for cardiovascular markers even in the absence of weight loss and in the presence of higher fat intake.
Building on this line of research, Volek and his colleagues also have conducted research into personalized diet prescriptions based on genetic data and their potential for the prevention and treatment of disease.
"We are extremely grateful to the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation for this gift, which will help us further expand our research into the many facets of carbohydrate restriction for the treatment of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related metabolic syndromes," Volek said. "This support will allow us to enhance our laboratory capabilities and facilitate our ability to make breakthrough discoveries in nutrition research."
The Neag School is matching the Atkins Foundation's gift by providing full funding for a graduate assistantship for each of the three years covered by the agreement.
The Neag School 's doctoral program in kinesiology was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. this year by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education, one of the highest honors in its field.
Established with a $40 million gift in August 2003, the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation funds independent scientific research on the role metabolism and nutrition play in obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and other serious health concerns. One of the few grant-making organizations dedicated to research in this arena, it also supports educational programs and endowed professorships at leading academic medical centers. The Atkins Foundation, which is not affiliated with and operates independently of Atkins Nutritionals Inc., is governed by a board of directors as a supporting organization of the National Philanthropic Trust.
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