BIRMINGHAM, AL — With a 2005 Future Leader award from the North American branch of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), UAB’s Jamy D. Ard, M.D., is investigating a little-studied subject: the effects of low-fat dairy products on weight loss among African-Americans.

Although obesity is a risk factor for serious medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, both highly prevalent among African-Americans, there is no clear cut evidence that low-fat dairy products actually enhance weight loss, Ard says.

The ILSI award provides $30,000 in funding for Ard’s study, entitled “Effects of Dairy on Weight and Insulin Sensitivity in African-Americans”.

“In this study, we’ll clinically examine the effects of low-fat diary products in weight control among African-Americans,” Ard said. “I believe that the results of this research will provide more definitive evidence for industry, consumers and health care providers on the role these products play regarding weight loss and weight control.”

The ILSI Future Leader Awards are considered highly prestigious and competitive, and UAB has had three previous recipients among its faculty. Ard, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences in the UAB School of Health Related Professions, joins former UAB recipients of this award including Tim Nagy, Ph.D., professor of Nutrition Sciences and director of the division of Physiology and Metabolism in the Department of Nutrition Sciences; Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Ph.D., assistant professor of Nutrition Sciences; and David Allison, Ph.D., professor of Biostatistics and director of UAB’s Clinical Nutrition Research Center.

ILSI North America is a public, non-profit scientific foundation. ILSI North America advances the understanding and application of scientific issues related to the nutritional quality and safety of the food supply as well as health issues related to consumer self-care products.