Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a long-term metabolic disorder that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, and unexplained weight loss. Symptoms may also include increased hunger, feeling tired, and sores that do not heal. Often symptoms come on slowly. Long-term complications from high blood sugar include heart disease, strokes, diabetic retinopathy which can result in blindness, kidney failure, and poor blood flow in the limbs which may lead to amputations. The sudden onset of hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state may occur; however, ketoacidosis is uncommon.
Metformin, marketed under the trade name Glucophage among others, is the first-line medication for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, particularly in people who are overweight. It is also used in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Limited evidence suggests metformin may prevent the cardiovascular disease and cancer complications of diabetes. It is not associated with weight gain. It is taken by mouth.
Binge eating disorder (BED) is an eating disorder characterized by frequent and recurrent binge eating episodes with associated negative psychological and social problems, but without subsequent purging episodes.
Gestational diabetes is a condition in which a woman without diabetes develops high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes generally results in few symptoms; however, it does increase the risk of pre-eclampsia, depression, and requiring a Caesarean section. Babies born to mothers with poorly treated gestational diabetes are at increased risk of being too large, having low blood sugar after birth, and jaundice. If untreated, it can also result in a stillbirth. Long term, children are at higher risk of being overweight and developing type 2 diabetes.
Anti-obesity medication or weight loss drugs are pharmacological agents that reduce or control weight. These drugs alter one of the fundamental processes of the human body, weight regulation, by altering either appetite, or absorption of calories. The main treatment modalities for overweight and obese individuals remain dieting and physical exercise.
Joslin Diabetes Center is the world’s largest diabetes research center, diabetes clinic, and provider of diabetes education. It is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Among the Harvard Medical School Affiliated institutions, Joslin is unique in its sole focus on diabetes. Joslin has the world’s largest team of board-certified physicians treating diabetes and its complications, as well as the largest staff of Certified Diabetes Educators anywhere in the world.
Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity.
The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) is a research study that includes people who have lost at least 13.6 kg (30 lbs) of weight and kept it off for at least one year. There are currently over 10,000 members enrolled in the study, making it perhaps the largest study of weight loss ever conducted. Members complete annual questionnaires about their current weight, diet and exercise habits, and behavioral strategies for weight loss maintenance.
A fat camp, weight loss camp, or fat farm is a type of residential program where people who are overweight or obese go to lose weight through exercise and lifestyle changes.
Wellspring Academies is a pair of therapeutic boarding schools for overweight and obese children, teens, and young adults, both operated by Wellspring, a division of Aspen Education Group. It is said to be the first weight loss boarding school in the United States.
Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects it is being recognized as a serious public health concern. The term overweight rather than obese is often used when discussing childhood obesity, especially in open discussion, as it is less stigmatizing.
Health at Every Size (HAES) is a hypothesis advanced by certain sectors of the fat acceptance movement. It is promoted by the Association for Size Diversity and Health, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization that owns the phrase as a registered trademark. Its main tenet involves rejection of the scientific consensus regarding the health effects of excessive caloric intake, a sedentary lifestyle, improper nutrition, and greater body weight.
TOPS Club, Inc. is a non-profit charitable corporation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, having members in chapters located worldwide, the majority of them in the United States and Canada. Its twofold objective is to sponsor research and foster support groups in human body weight control. Most members refer to the organization simply as "TOPS", an acronym for "Take Off Pounds Sensibly."
Alogliptin is an oral anti-diabetic drug in the DPP-4 inhibitor (gliptin) class. Alogliptin does not decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke. Like other members of the gliptin class, it causes little or no weight gain, exhibits relatively little risk of hypoglycemia, and has relatively modest glucose-lowering activity. Alogliptin and other gliptins are commonly used in combination with metformin in people whose diabetes cannot adequately be controlled with metformin alone.
The Epidemiology Data Center (EDC) is recognized as an official University Center at the University of Pittsburgh; and is part of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. The EDC was formed in 1980 by Katherine M. Detre, M.D., Dr.P.H., and is currently under the co-direction of Sheryl F. Kelsey, Steven H. Belle, and Stephen R. Wisniewski.
George L. Blackburn was the S. Daniel Abraham Professor of Nutrition and Associate Director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School. He was also Director of the Center for the Study of Nutrition Medicine (CSNM) in the Roberta and Stephen R. Weiner Department of Surgery, and Director of the new Feihe Nutrition Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Boston, Massachusetts.
Obesity in North Africa and the Middle East is a notable health issue. In 2005, the World Health Organization measured that 1.6 billion people were overweight and 400 million were obese. It estimates that by the year 2015, 2.3 billion people will be overweight and 700 million will be obese. The Middle East, including the Arabian Peninsula, Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey and Iran, and North Africa, are no exception to the worldwide increase in obesity. Subsequently, some call this trend the New World Syndrome. The lifestyle changes associated with the discovery of oil and the subsequent increase in wealth is one contributing factor.
Management of obesity can include lifestyle changes, medications, or surgery. The main treatment for obesity consists of dieting and physical exercise. Diet programs may produce weight loss over the short term, but maintaining this weight loss is frequently difficult and often requires making exercise and a lower calorie diet a permanent part of an individual's lifestyle. Success rates of long-term weight loss maintenance with lifestyle changes are low, ranging from 2 to 20%. Dietary and lifestyle changes are effective in limiting excessive weight gain in pregnancy and improve outcomes for both the mother and the child. The National Institutes of Health recommend a weight loss goal of 5% to 10% of the person's current weight over six months.
The social stigma of obesity or anti-fat bias has resulted in additional difficulties and disadvantages for overweight and obese people. Weight stigma is similar and has been broadly defined as bias or discriminatory behaviors targeted at individuals, because of their weight. Such social stigmas can span one's entire life, as long as excess weight is present, starting from a young age and lasting into adulthood. Several studies from across the world indicate overweight and obese individuals experience higher levels of stigma relative to their thinner counterparts. In addition, they marry less often, experience fewer educational and career opportunities, and on average earn a lesser income than normal weight individuals. Although public support regarding disability services, civil rights and anti-workplace discrimination laws for obese individuals have gained support across the years, overweight and obese individuals still experience discrimination, which may have implications to physiological and psychological health. These issues are compounded with the significant negative physiological effects associated with obesity.
Sherry Pagoto is a Professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut and director of the UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media. A behavioural scientist and licensed clinical psychologist, she is an expert in leveraging technology, especially social media, to promote health behavior change with extensive research on the topics of obesity management and cancer prevention. She is the President of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
