Welcome to IDOC

Obesity is arguably the most important—and at the same time, the most complex—major public health problem in the United States.  Moreover, the escalating prevalence of obesity and its consequences has now become a serious scientific and global societal challenge.  Unraveling the obesity puzzle requires researchers from different disciplines to investigate the many complex factors that cause obesity and the negative consequences of being obese.

With funding from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Roadmap Initiative, UNC has developed a critical mass of expertise in the obesity area with nearly 80 researchers from UNC, Duke and neighboring institutions who comprise the Interdisciplinary Obesity Center or IDOC (pronounced "I-DOC").  IDOC faculty come from 23 departments and seven schools, including the Schools of Public Health, Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Business, and Allied Health Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences.

This unique group of scientists includes national and international leaders with active research in areas as varied as dietary and physical activity patterns, trends and behaviors in the United States and globally, metabolic syndrome, use of advanced forms of the media, eating disorders, appetite control, addictive behaviors, nutrition and weight dynamics during pregnancy and infancy, animal and human genetics, inflammatory diseases, lipid metabolism, and many others.