SAN JOSE, CA – IBM has announced it has launched a multi-year research project to connect and analyze enormous collections of data from a wide variety of sources to find ways to improve health. The project will initially focus on childhood obesity.

The IBM Research project will combine and analyze massive data sources that have never before been integrated to simulate the cause-and-effect relationships between agriculture, transportation, city planning, eating and exercise habits, socio-economic status, family life, and more, researchers said.