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<P>Thirty obese patients undergoing weight loss surgery (gastric band surgery) will be recruited and thirty non-obese patients undergoing minor gastric/abdominal surgery will be recruited as controls. Each participant will provide liver, adipose tissue and blood samples during surgery. Follow up blood samples will be taken from the volunteers 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after surgery. Each participant will also complete a simple food diary and have their weight loss and change of body composition monitored.</P>
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Measurement of dioxin levels in liver, adipose tissue and blood samples will be performed using high resolution mass spectrometry.</P>
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The final data will be analysed to identify the change in dioxin levels over time associated with loss of body weight/change in lean body mass, together with the dioxin load in subcutaneous adipose tissue before and after weight loss.</P>
<P>FS241062(T01063) BFR extension - Start date: 1 April 2011 End date: 1 June 2015</P>
<P>An extension to this project, FS241062(T01063) BFR, is currently underway and will run alongside the original project. Owing to the lack of data on brominated flame retardants (BFRs), it has been considered beneficial to gather baseline data on body burdens and thus assess the value of the approach and possible basis for biomonitoring. Samples of adipose and blood will be obtained under T01063 for these additional analysis, which will give added value to the ongoing FSA-funded study, FS235011(T01063). The outcomes of the extension will yield useful information to further refine the risk assessment for BFRs. </P>
<P>Dioxins are persistent organic pollutants which are widespread in the environment. They are formed as by-products of natural and industrial combustion, and during some industrial processes. They accumulate in fat and fatty tissue of living organisms. The main source of human exposure to dioxins is from the diet; the highest levels being found in fatty foods such as dairy products, meat, and oily fish. </P>
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Determining human tissue concentrations of dioxins is an important factor for assessing the risk to public health from these compounds, and this information is currently lacking for European populations. This study aims to determine what happens to dioxins stored in body fat when someone looses a lot of weight over a short period of time. The results should enable the Agency to determine whether the dioxins concentrate in the remaining fat or are lost from the body along with the fat.</P>
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The outcomes of this study will yield useful information to further refine the risk assessment for dioxins.</P>
<p>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.