1. Obesity: definition, clinical aspects, epidemiology, public health impact DioGenes & Hepadip Course Genomics on Obesity June 7, 2007, Toulouse Thorkild I.A. Sørensen, MD, Dr Med Sci, Professor, Director Institute of Preventive Medicine Copenhagen University Hospital Center for Health and Society Copenhagen, Denmark

2. Obesity – outline Definitions Occurrence Causes Prevention Current health problems Prognosis Treatment Public health impact

3. Obesity – Definitions WHO – pragmatic Functional? Origin? Needs for change?

4. Obesity – Occurrence Of what? How do we measure it? Is it incidence & persistence Place, groups & time Heterogenity – remember!

5. Obesity – Causes Positive energy balance What is a cause? How do we find causes?

6. Obesity – Real causes Do you know them? Know or believe? Genes, of course! What else? Identifiable? Instability?

7. Obesity – Prevention What is it? What are we doing? Does it work? What shall we do?

8. Obesity – Current health problems What bothers the obese themselves? Why do they request help? Do they understand their own problems?

9. Obesity – Prognosis What is prognosis? How do we study it? Of the condition itself? Of risk of co-morbidities? Of dying?

10. Obesity – Treatment What is treatment? What are the goals? How do we do it? Does it work? How should we do it?

11. Obesity – Public health impact What is public health? What does impact mean? Why is it important? Hierachy of solutions

12. Obesity – Translational science Basic science: let’s understand the reality Clinical science: let’s change the reality for those already sick Public health science: let’s change the reality for those not yet sick To achieve the goals we need to translate the understanding to changes!

13. MUST BE POSSIBLE BUT MAY NEED MORE RESEARCH BASED ON NEW PARADIGMS?