Obesity experts receive award

HONG KONG: Two scientists whose work challenges the assumption that obesity is caused by a lack of willpower were announced yesterday as the winners of the Shaw Prize, considered to be the Nobel Prize of the east.

Douglas Coleman and Jeffrey Friedman, who both work in the United States, will share the one million US dollar Shaw Prize for Life Sciences and Medicine, organizers of the award said.

The pair were given the coveted award for their separate research which led to the discovery of leptin, a hormone that regulates food intake and bodyweight.