About Shape Up!
Shape Up! is a collaborative research initiative spanning four institutions:
- University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center — Honolulu (lead site)
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center — Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
- University of California, San Francisco — UCSF
- University of Washington — Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Seattle
Purpose
The study explores how to measure health and body composition from 2D and 3D images. Researchers use external body-shape data to predict internal health measures — body-fat percentage, lean muscle mass, and other indicators that help assess health and wellness risk.
Research goal
Build the largest and most powerful description of optical body shape and its association with body composition, metabolic markers, function, and dietary intake.
Funding
Three NIH grants support the research:
- R01 DK109008 — Optical Body Composition and Health Assessment (NIDDK)
- R01 DK111698 — Shape Up! Kids (NIDDK)
- R01 HD103885 — Quantifying body shape in pediatric clinical research (NICHD)