A Global View of Diabesity

This week I am attending the World Congress on Obesity, organized by the International Diabetes Federation.

As one would imagine, the program here is chock-full of talks on obesity – everything from the impact of excess weight on insulin resistance and diabetes risk to basic science talks on energy and appetite regulation.

This morning I will be presenting a 60 min course on obesity management in diabetes and later this week, I will be co-chairing a session on bariatric surgery.

At this moment I am sitting in a session on obesity in ethnic populations listening to talks on why, for e.g., the very concept of weight loss goes against many traditional cultures and indeed, losing weight or being skinny is neither socially desirable nor a sign of good health.

This of course, proves a challenge as type 2 diabetes becomes more rampant in these populations (like India, South America, Australian Aboriginals, etc.) where there is little interest in weight management as an important principle in diabetes prevention and management.

I certainly look forward to a most interesting week here in Dubai and learning more about diabetes and its management from my colleagues around the world.

AMS
Dubai, UAE