Appetite, Energy Homeostasis and Obesity

Obesity and its co-morbidities are a major health problem worldwide and predicted to worsen through worsening of the situation in the world’s largest block of nations (the BRIC countries). The foreseeable future does not provide optimism these outcomes can be easily prevented and emphasis has to be on management and treatment.

In this unit, you will gain knowledge and appreciation of forefront research in the biology and treatment of obesity and co-morbidities to allow you to conduct critical thinking and analytic research activities and be better informed citizens in the field of Obesity and its co-morbidities. This will be attained through study of how we acquire energy through our intake of foods and their conversion to energy stores; how energy is drawn down from the body stores for daily activities; when and how an imbalance can result between intake and expenditure to cause a surfeit of energy store, producing obesity and associated co-morbidities; and finally, what is the evidence basis for different therapies for the treatment of obesity and co-morbidities.