The Skinny on Fat
Obesity—both on an individual and a societal level—is a concern for millions of Canadians. Despite existing public policy and weight loss treatments, more Canadians are clinically overweight than are not.
At the same time, health research has yet to fully understand exactly how obesity affects the progression or treatment of people suffering from weight-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Obesity treatments themselves remain largely ineffective, as most people who lose weight eventually gain it back.
As Canada Research Chair in Clinical Nutrition at Concordia University, Dr. Sylvia Santosa studies the metabolic and cellular mechanisms surrounding how diseases develop among the overweight—and why not all obese people develop weight-related illnesses. Her multidisciplinary research integrates elements from biology, physiology and nutritional science to study the effects of obesity that contribute to weight gain and disease.
Santosa’s research will identify the long-term effects of obesity, from cells to the entire human body. The results of her work will help in developing better public health interventions, from disease prevention to weight management.