This comprehensive reference work presents an up-to-date survey of the current scientific understanding of the metabolic syndrome, as well as an overview of the most significant advances in the field. The book offers a thorough reference for obesity and the metabolic syndrome and will prove an indispensable resource for clinicians, researchers and students. The obesity epidemic has generated immense interest in recent years due to the wide-ranging and significant adverse health and economic consequences that surround the problem. Much attention has been focused on excessive consumption of energy-dense food, sedentary lifestyle, and other behaviors that contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity. However, obesity is a highly complex condition that is influenced by genetic as well as environmental factors. The metabolic syndrome comprises of central obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dsylipidemia. The incidence of metabolic syndrome is growing worldwide, affecting more than one-third of adults in some countries. The metabolic syndrome increases the risk of developing coronary artery disease and stroke, and it is closely associated with fatty liver, dementia, cancer, sleep apnea, kidney failure, and other diseases. This reference work covers the full range of scientific and clinical aspects of obesity and metabolic syndrome: epidemiology, genetics, environmental factors, pathophysiology, diseases associated with obesity, pediatric obesity, and clinical management.
Rexford S. Ahima is a Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Diabetes, and director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University. He received his medical degree from the University of Ghana, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He did his internship and residency training in Internal Medicine at the Jacobi Medical Center and Weiler Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in the Bronx, New York, and clinical and research fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Dr. Ahima has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, American College of Physicians, Interurban ClinicalClub, and the Obesity Society. He is a former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, and associate editor of Gastroenterology, Molecular Endocrinology, and Endocrine Reviews. Dr. Ahima has served on various committees of the National Institutes of Health, the Endocrine Society, and other health and scholarly organizations. His research is focused on central and peripheral regulation of energy homeostasis and the pathophysiology of obesity, diabetes and related diseases. He is board certified in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, and is the leader of the Johns Hopkins Diabetes Initiative.
