Obesity:
Causes and Consequences
Understand the complexity of obesity and assess patients according to the causes of their weight gain
20 Academic Credits
Personal Tutor
January, April, September
What You Will Learn
Obesity is a complex condition with multiple interconnected causes. You will critically review the biological, social, environmental, and economic factors contributing to obesity, and examine the wide-ranging health and social consequences of this modern epidemic.
You will develop tools to assess patients according to the causes of their obesity, enabling you to generate more effective, individualised solutions.
The module aims to:
- Demonstrate the complexity of obesity and the wide range of interconnected factors that contribute to weight gain
- Introduce tools to assess patients according to the causes of their obesity to help generate more effective solutions
- Provide you with an understanding of the wide-ranging consequences of obesity and their implications for individuals and society
- Develop your sensitivity and compassion towards people living with obesity
You will explore causes of obesity in depth to facilitate greater understanding of the problem in individual patients. Evidence for classifying obesity as a disease will be reviewed along with conflicting hypotheses on the science and pathophysiology of obesity. Key questions will be asked about the role of the food industry, changes in food consumption, food policy, and the individual in the obesity epidemic.
The module also provides an overview of the physiology of adipose tissue and the co-morbidities of obesity and their pathogenesis including: type 2 diabetes, complications of pregnancy, cognitive effects, sleep apnoea, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular complications. The emotional and economic consequences of obesity, together with the impact of an obesogenic environment, are also reviewed.
This module requires a payment of the standard CCH Postgraduate Module fee £985.
Ready to Understand the Complexity of Obesity Care?