Prof. Gijs Goossens, Maastricht University Medical Centre

*Please note seminar time change to 2pm**

The pathophysiology of cardiometabolic complications in obesity: towards tailored approaches

Abstract: Obesity is a complex chronic relapsing disease that acts as a gateway to many other noncommunicable diseases. The excessive accumulation of abdominal fat in people with obesity is often accompanied by adipose tissue dysfunction, low-grade inflammation and impairments in lipid and glucose metabolism, together accelerating the development and progression of insulin resistance and related cardiometabolic diseases. Although weight loss is the most powerful approach to improve health and quality of life in people with obesity, weight loss maintenance is the biggest challenge in the management of obesity. Recent studies in rodents provided critical evidence that the adipose tissue and immune system memorize a previous period of obesity after weight loss (obesogenic memory) and identified persistent reprogramming of adipocytes and immune cells towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype as a potential key driver of persistent inflammation, weight regain and worsening of cardiometabolic health after initial successful weight loss. Ongoing studies in our laboratory aim to provide a better understanding of inter-individual differences in the response to lifestyle, pharmacological and surgical interventions, which is paramount for more effective, personalised strategies to prevent and reverse obesity-related complications and improve quality of life in people with obesity.

(opens in a new window)Professor Gijs Goossens is Professor of Cardiometabolic Physiology of Obesity in the  Department of Human Biology, Institute of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University Medical Centre.