Last modified: 05 Aug 2021 13:04
Obesity is a major worldwide health problem and in simple terms is caused by an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. However, this simple equation ignores the complex range of factors that control how individuals respond to todays energy rich environment. These include differences in the way we sense hunger, our capacity to store or burn energy, our response to nutrients and how circulating factors affect the function of our metabolically important tissues. This course examines how body weight is controlled, why obesity can cause ill-health and what we can do to prevent or treat obesity and associated diseases.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
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| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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The course examines how obesity develops, the genetic and environmental factors involved, the basis of obesity related metabolic diseases and current and potential therapies. The contributions of feeding behaviour, adipose tissue function, nutrition and energy expenditure to increased weight gain and metabolic health will be discussed. The course will cover a range of topics including cellular and molecular detail of critical pathways controlling body weight, how multiple tissues interact to influence metabolic health and how overnutrition can lead to conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The effectiveness and limitations of current treatments for these conditions will be discussed along with the potential avenues for new therapies. Students should come to appreciate that body weight and metabolic health is dictated by multiple integrated pathways, several of which may be amenable to therapeutic intervention.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
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| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 70 | |
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| Factual | Remember | ILO’s for this course are available in the course guide. |
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