Unit 6
Obesity and Diabetes

Overview

We start this unit by examining obesity: its dangers, its causes, and how it can best be treated. The causes and dietary treatment of diabetes form the subject of Sections 3, 4, and 5.

Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. define obesity.
2. discuss the health risks associated with obesity.
3. explain what is known about the roles of fat, sugar, fibre, and exercise in causing and preventing obesity.
4. describe appropriate diet, physical activity, and behaviour changes to promote healthy weight loss.
5. define diabetes, and distinguish between the type 1 and type 2 forms of this disease.
6. explain the meaning of insulin resistance.
7. discuss the role of diet in the causation and control of type 2 diabetes.
8. discuss the condition known as metabolic syndrome.