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In 1977 the first-term comprehensive obesity research group sponsored by Ministry of Education (currently Ministry of Education, Science & Culture) was organized. During the second-term, a society for scientific research on obesity was instituted for aiming at exchanging researches, informations and enlightenments of problems related to obesity and its solutions in 1980 , when the first scientific meeting was held. In compliance with the request of holding the International Congress on Obesity in Japan , the society become a formal scientific organization in Japan, and thus Japan Society for the Study of Obesity (refered to JASSO ) was established in 1984. JASSO held the 6th International Congress on Obesity at Kobe in 1990, which was a great success by collecting 1000 attendants (550 attendants from foreign countries). Subsequently, JASSO steadily has been developing to have 1900 members and to hold the 23rd scientific meeting in 2002.
"Proceedings of the society for scientific meeting " had been published since the first scientific meeting of the society for scientific research on obesity until 1995 , when it was replaced by the official academic journal of JASSO gObesity Researchh The journals are now published 4 times a year to promote academic exchanges related to obesity.
The members of JASSO consist of medical researchers, general practitioners, co-medical staffs including nurses, nutritionists, laboratory technicians and pharmacists as well as agricultural, biochemical, physiological and pharmaceutical researchers.
Since the time of inauguration, JASSO has played a leading role on obesity research internationally especially in the areas of appetite regulation, roles of autonomic nerves in the fat synthesis and decomposition, etiology and pathophysiology of experimental obesity. JASSO is now in the forefront of molecular biology researches related to obesity.
On the background of increased international academic and practical interests in obesity-related health problems, JASSO defines the concept of simple "obeseness" and that of morbid "obesity", thereby attracting the international attention. In a view that anti-obesity drugs will be available in Japan in near future, recent activities of JASSO are focused on the publicity and education of general practitioners, co-medical staffs and general public for understanding of obesity correctly, in addition to consolidating basic and clinical researches on obesity-related problems.
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