Siriraj Faculty Abroad at University College London
Congratulations! Lecturer Dr. Kusuma Chaiyasoot of Division of Clinical Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, has completed her Doctoral Progam (Ph.D.) in Obesity Studies at the Centre for Obesity Research, University College London (UCL), UK, during May 1st, 2016 – December 31st, 2020.
During her studies, Lecturer Dr. Kusuma has an opportunity to deliver a poster presentation on the topic “Identifying factors associated with weight-loss and metabolic success after bariatric surgery”. After her graduation, Lecturer Dr. Kusuma will continue her position at the Division of Clinical Nutrition to provide good care for the patients with obesity, and to train the medical students, residents, and healthcare professionals to deliver good care to people with obesity, and lastly, to research in obesity field!
“Obesity is a condition in which excess adipose tissue (body fat) has accumulated in the body, leading to adverse health effects. Obesity increases the risk of developing several diseases; for example, type 2 diabetes (T2DM), cardiovascular disease (CVD), certain types of cancer, and psychological problems, leading to impaired quality of life, morbidity, and mortality. Thailand is currently ranked second in ASEAN for the most obese countries. The prevalence of obesity in Thai adults was 37.5% in 2014, resulting in a significant economic burden. Nonetheless, obesity specialists in Thailand are currently scarce.
To provide good care for people with obesity, a well-established multidisciplinary team including obesity nurse specialists, obesity physicians, surgeons, endoscopists, dieticians, psychologists, etc., is necessary. People with obesity thus can be well-informed and supported by various modalities: lifestyle modification, medical and surgical weight-loss interventions, as well as the treatment for obesity co-morbidities. More importantly, identifying people at risk for obesity using clinical, genetic and/or physiological predictors can be useful for early detection and treatment. In addition, training medical students, residents, and healthcare professionals to deliver good care to people with obesity to handle the obesity pandemic is a priority. Furthermore, there is substantial room for research in obesity field. Study in gut hormones, genetics, metabolomics, gut microbiota, etc., could lead to better understanding in the pathophysiology of obesity and potentially discover a new treatment to tackle the obesity pandemic!”
