Type 2 diabetes (T2D), formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, fatigue and unexplained weight loss. Other symptoms include increased hunger, having a sensation of pins and needles, and sores (wounds) that heal slowly. Symptoms often develop slowly. Long-term complications from high blood sugar include heart disease, stroke, diabetic retinopathy, which can result in blindness, kidney failure, and poor blood flow in the lower-limbs, which may lead to amputations. The sudden onset of hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state may occur; however, ketoacidosis is uncommon.
The human microbiome is the aggregate of all microbiota that reside on or within human tissues and biofluids along with the corresponding anatomical sites in which they reside, including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, mammary glands, seminal fluid, uterus, ovarian follicles, lung, saliva, oral mucosa, conjunctiva, and the biliary tract. Types of human microbiota include bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists, and viruses. Though micro-animals can also live on the human body, they are typically excluded from this definition. In the context of genomics, the term human microbiome is sometimes used to refer to the collective genomes of resident microorganisms; however, the term human metagenome has the same meaning.
Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch, where the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several different ways to reconnect the intestine, thus leading to several different gastric bypass procedures (GBP). Any GBP leads to a marked reduction in the functional volume of the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and physical response to food.
Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) refers to any of several hereditary forms of diabetes mellitus caused by mutations in an autosomal dominant gene disrupting insulin production. Along with neonatal diabetes, MODY is a form of the conditions known as monogenic diabetes. While the more common types of diabetes involve more complex combinations of causes involving multiple genes and environmental factors, each forms of MODY are caused by changes to a single gene (monogenic). HNF1A-MODY are the most common forms.
Bariatrics is a discipline that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity, encompassing both obesity medicine and bariatric surgery.
A metabolic disorder is a disorder that negatively alters the body's processing and distribution of macronutrients, such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Metabolic disorders can happen when abnormal chemical reactions in the body alter the normal metabolic process. It can also be defined as inherited single gene anomaly, most of which are autosomal recessive.
Sleeve gastrectomy or vertical sleeve gastrectomy, is a surgical weight-loss procedure, typically performed laparoscopically, in which approximately 75 - 85% of the stomach is removed, along the greater curvature, which leaves a cylindrical, or "sleeve"-shaped stomach the size of a banana. Weight loss is affected not only through the reduction of the organ's size, but by the removal of the portion of it that produces ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite. Patients can lose 50-70 percent of excess weight over the course of the two years that follow the surgery. The procedure is irreversible, though in some uncommon cases, patients can regain the lost weight, via resumption of poor dietary habits, or dilation of the stomach over time, which can require gastric sleeve revision surgery to either repair the sleeve or convert it to another type of weight loss method that may produce better results, such as a gastric bypass or duodenal switch.
Dysbiosis is characterized by a disruption to the microbiome resulting in an imbalance in the microbiota, changes in their functional composition and metabolic activities, or a shift in their local distribution. For example, a part of the human microbiota such as the skin flora, gut flora, or vaginal flora, can become deranged (unbalanced), when normally dominating species become underrepresented and species that normally are outcompeted or contained increase to fill the void. Similar to the human gut microbiome, diverse microbes colonize the plant rhizosphere, and dysbiosis in the rhizosphere, can negatively impact plant health. Dysbiosis is most commonly reported as a condition in the gastrointestinal tract or plant rhizosphere.
The term "infectobesity" refers to the hypothesis that obesity in humans can be caused by pathogenic organisms, and the emerging field of medical research that studies the relationship between pathogens and weight gain. The term was coined in 2001 by Dr. Nikhil V. Dhurandhar, at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
Bariatric surgery is a surgical procedure used to manage obesity and obesity-related conditions. Long term weight loss with bariatric surgery may be achieved through alteration of gut hormones, physical reduction of stomach size, reduction of nutrient absorption, or a combination of these. Standard of care procedures include Roux en-Y bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, from which weight loss is largely achieved by altering gut hormone levels responsible for hunger and satiety, leading to a new hormonal weight set point.
The American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) is a non-profit medical organization dedicated to metabolic and bariatric surgery, and obesity-related diseases and conditions. It was established in 1983.
Management of obesity can include lifestyle changes, medications, or surgery. Although many studies have sought effective interventions, there is currently no evidence-based, well-defined, and efficient intervention to prevent obesity.
Rachel Louise Batterham is a British physician who is a professor of Obesity, Diabetes and Endocrinology at University College London. She established the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Bariatric Centre for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery. She has extensively studied obesity, and has contributed to clinical management and the understanding of obesity-related diseases.
Healthier Lives – He Oranga Hauora was one of New Zealand's eleven collaborative research programmes known as National Science Challenges. Running from 2015 to 2024, the focus of Healthier Lives National Science Challenge research was cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes in the New Zealand population, encompassing prevention, treatment, and the reduction of health inequity, and including precision medicine techniques, and culturally-centred health programmes for Māori and Pasifika.
Diabesity is a global epidemic characterized by the co-occurrence of obesity and type 2 diabetes; excess body fat is the most significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
Lisa Anne Te Morenga is a New Zealand Maori academic, and she is a full professor at the Research Centre for Hauora and Health at Massey University. Her research focuses on nutrition and Māori health, especially in relation to dietary interventions to prevent metabolic disease.
Trecia Ann Wouldes is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland, specialising in the developmental effects of drug exposure in pregnancy.
Karen Elizabeth Waldie is a Canadian–New Zealand academic psychologist, and is a full professor at the University of Auckland, specialising in understanding the causes of neurodivergence such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia.
Erica Hinckson is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT). She is interested in how the built environment affects physical activity, and how to use approaches such as citizen science and participatory research to achieve large-scale change.
Toni Ashton is a New Zealand health economist, and was a full professor at the University of Auckland, specialising in the funding and structure of health systems.
