Obesity Management For Diabetes Educators

Of all the complications of obesity, diabetes appears to be most sensitive to changes in body weight. Thus, it makes perfect sense for anyone involved in the care of patients living with diabetes to familiarize themselves with the basics of obesity management.

This is probably why I was invited by the Taiwanese Association of Diabetes Educators this weekend to present a plenary talk on the 5As of Obesity Management at their annual meeting, which draws over 3,000 nurses, dietitians, pharmacists and physicians from across Taiwan.

Judging by the interest in the topic, the (surprisingly?) many questions and the number of folks who came up to me after my talk with additional questions – interest in this topic is as big as anywhere else.

Indeed, the importance of obesity in Taiwan may not be readily appreciated by simply looking at the population, who all appear rather slender compared to what we may be used to in Western countries – but remember obesity here is defined as a BMI or just 27 and many obesity related health problems in Asians occur at much lower body weights than in Caucasians.

@DrSharma
Taipei, Taiwan