St. John’s Research Institute

	Determination of protein and amino acid requirements using stable isotopic techniques:

		The long-term interest of this group has been to define and determine the energy and protein requirements in man, particularly with respect to adaptations that result with chronic under nutrition and disease. The requirement of essential amino acids is of particular interest to this group. In all these investigations, stable isotope probes have been used to allow for longer term, relatively non-invasive measurements of metabolism and requirement.

	Requirements of essential amino acids in children:
		We have very poor information on children's requirements for essential amino acids due to lack of a suitable method to determine the requirements. A novel method has now been developed which will be used to determine the essential amino acid requirements of healthy, undernourished as well as well-nourished children. This work is being done in collaboration with the Hospital for Sick Children, Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.

	Determination of body composition of humans:
		Given the rapid increase in chronic disease prevalence in India, and its linkage to body fat accumulation, this group has worked on different methods of measuring body fat in humans among different age groups.

	Measurement of insulin resistance
		This is done by the use of glucose-insulin clamps to determine insulin sensitivity in states of chronic, over and under nutrition and its relation to muscle mass

	Other areas of research in the micronutrients section are:
		Exercise physiology, physical activity and fitness measurements in humans

		Regulation of energy metabolism, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous
		system activity

		Measurement of free living physiological parameters such as heart rate, BP, energy
		expenditure, activity

		Strategies to evaluate the bioavailability of micronutrients