Obesity (J2) 2011

An obesity epidemic is sweeping across the Westernized world. More than ever, there is an acknowledgement that the regulation of body weight regulation is more complicated than ever imagined. The last decade has seen rapid progress in our understanding of how body weight is regulated; multiple organs are involved adding to the complexity. These exciting discoveries are leading us in new directions in therapeutics and helping us to better understand of mechanisms underlying the successes of obesity surgery. The goal of this meeting is to bring to light recent advances in the molecular and cellular aspects of these inter-related systems controlling body weight. It is becoming increasingly clear that there are multiple interlocking and redundant systems controlling energy intake, energy expenditure, substrate selection and ultimately body weight. This meeting will assemble international leaders from each of these thematic areas. The program highlights recent advances in the molecular etiology of in the major peripheral organs that orchestrate energy balance: adipose tissue, the brain and the gut. Emphasis will be placed on the role of the gut in the regulation of energy metabolism, how the peripheral tissues signal to the brain, and adipose tissue as an orchestrator of metabolism. A major goal of the meeting is to provide a forum that encourages interactions between basic and translational scientists at all career levels to critically evaluate new developments and current controversies. Opportunities for interdisciplinary interactions will be further enhanced by the concurrent meeting on Diabetes , which will share two Keynote Speakers and three joint plenary sessions with this meeting. The joint sessions will cover mitochondrial energetics, how adipose tissue causes insulin resistance and the epigenetic control of metabolism concluding with a workshop / panel discussion on mechanisms of insulin resistance in obesity.