Unlocking secrets: Mysteries of metabolism part of nutrition research

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- The room isn't much to look at. Small and plain, with a twin bed, a chair, a dorm-size refrigerator, a sink and a toilet.

But the spartan appearance is deceiving.

This "metabolic chamber" at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute has cost about $1 million to build and maintain. It's the newest and most sensitive of 17 such research tools in the world, according to Dr. Steven Zeisel, the institute's director.

Institute scientists hope the chamber will help them unlock the secrets of human metabolism and provide answers for people who struggle to control their weight.

By monitoring volunteers who stay overnight in the 8-by-11-foot space, researchers hope to identify foods, activity levels and genes that affect human metabolism. With that, they'll be able to prescribe customized diets and exercise plans that are more likely to work for specific people.

"Nowadays people jump around from diet to diet, and most of the time it doesn't work. Then they get discouraged and maybe just give up," said Karen Corbin, a dietitian and research fellow at the institute. "But once you know for sure what's going to work for someone, and they follow your recommendation and see a result, they're going to be more motivated to stick to it."

The nutrition institute is part of UNC Chapel Hill and is housed in one of the new brick buildings at the North Carolina Research Campus, a $1.5 billion biotechnology complex on 350 acres that used to be home to the Cannon textile mills.

The campus, created by billionaire Dole Food owner David Murdock, is a collaboration of eight N.C. universities to promote research in the areas of health and nutrition. N.C. State operates the Plants for Human Health Institute, and Appalachian State University operates the Human Performance Laboratory, focused on exercise.

Collaboration among nutritionists, plant biologists and exercise scientists on the same campus enhances the research process, Corbin said.

"There is something to be said for having everybody here," she said. "It's easy to get together and talk and say, 'Hey, I have this idea. What do you think?' "

Earlier this year, researchers from UNC and Appalachian State published results from the first study using the metabolic chamber.

It found that 10 men who exercised vigorously for 45 minutes in the morning continued to burn calories over the next 14 hours. Proof that an "after-burn" exists could motivate people to exercise intensely enough to get the added benefit, Corbin said.

Currently, the chamber is being used to study whether black pepper increases metabolism.

If it does, look for the sponsoring spice company to tout weight-loss enhancing properties.

Institute researchers will work with other food companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers as they try to increase understanding of the role of diet and activity in normal brain development, cancer prevention and the treatment of obesity.

"Everyone's trying to develop products that help people lose weight," said Andrew Swick, director of obesity and eating disorders research at the institute.

"The ultimate goal is individualized nutrition," he said. "We'd love to be able to tell people, 'You're more likely to lose weight by exercising.' Or 'you're more likely to lose weight by eating this.' We'd like to be able to make recommendations individually based on somebody's genetics."

So far, about 50 volunteers have spent time in the metabolic chamber.

At the end of the study, Swick said, "We'll find out whether black pepper increases metabolic rate or not. … We'll be able to detect less than a 100-calorie difference (per day)."