Professor Torben Hansen receives DKK 19.6 million from The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation

Professor Torben Hansen from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Section of Metabolic Genetics receives the donation to a project related to childhood obesity.

Today, the number of obese children in Denmark is 60,000. This means that 60,000 Danish children daily suffer from low quality of life and elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other complications.

Studies have shown that variants in our genes play a significant role for children's risk for developing obesity. Other investigations show that the composition of bacteria in the gastro-intestinal tract contributes to how much energy we harvest from our food and hence the risk of developing obesity.

Torben's group will investigate both the hereditary and the gastro-intestinal bacteriological causes of obesity. Furthermore, the group will investigate whether certain gene variants and/or intestinal bacteria play a role when overweight children lose weight during a weight loss intervention.

Regrettably, a broadcast on national radio with Torben talking about his project is no longer available.