Date: Monday 24th January 2022. 4pm – 5pm UK time
Title: Updates on obesity: diagnostics of underlying causes of obesity and novel treatment strategies
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Speakers
Prof Liesbeth van Rossum
Internist-Endocrinologist, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Dr Dror Dicker, EFIM President, Israël
Dr Mars Skae, Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist & Diabetologist
Clinical Director of CSU Medicine 2, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital
Moderators
Dr Jan Willem Elte, Gouda, The Netherlands
Professor Donald Singer, President, Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine, London, UK
Q & A for panel and audience
5.00 pm
Close
This session is organised by the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine, for which the official journals are the Postgraduate Medical Journal and Health Policy and Technology.
The FPM provide updates for clinical trainees, senior clinicians, policy makers, academics and other health professionals on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of common and serious clinical disorders – both for communicable and non-communicable diseases.
This session is of interest to a wide range of professionals interested in health, including clinical trainees, senior clinicians, policy makers, academics and other health professionals. The session is also open to interested members of the public.
Session abstract: Professor Liesbeth van Rossum
Updates on obesity: diagnostics of underlying causes of obesity and novel treatment strategies
In recent years, the number of people living with obesity has increased dramatically. At present, more than half of the European population is overweight (59%) and 23% is living with obesity. Increased visceral fat mass can lead to more than 200 diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, several forms of cancer, infertility, joint problems, more serious course of infectious diseases as COVID-19, etc. In addition, obesity also leads to increased risk of depression and psychosocial problems.
Treatments are often ineffective and have disappointing results. This is partly due to the fact that obesity is a complex and heterogeneous disease. For healthcare professionals who take care of people with obesity, it is important to first identify all factors that have led to the overweight and then after this phase initiate targeted treatment. Of course, diet and exercise are cornerstones of this treatment, but there are many other factors that contribute to obesity. For example, food choice is not always a conscious process and several psychological factors play a role (for example, acquired habits, chronic stress and sleep deprivation). Often medication with a potential weight gaining side effect is used, which can impair weight loss. Medication can, for example, stimulate appetite and sometimes have negative effects on metabolism, muscle mass or lipolysis. The genetic predisposition to developing overweight will also be discussed, as well as the influence of hormonal changes or diseases.
It is important to realize that obesity is a chronic relapsing disease, and needs lifelong attention to control this pro-inflammatory disease. If a lifestyle intervention is not successful in an individual, additional therapies should be considered, e.g weight reducing pharmacotherapy or – in case of severe obesity – bariatric surgery. Exciting novel developments in the field of obesity treatments will also be discussed.
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