title: Current status of the field of obesity.
abstract: Obesity is a new specialty of medicine fighting for recognition. Current treatments with diet, exercise, and lifestyle modification have a high failure rate. Few obesity drugs exist and they are not very effective. Research should focus on understanding basic mechanisms, the numerous etiologies of obesity, and new drug development. Understanding the mechanisms of bariatric surgery, which does work, will lead to new drugs and better treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA; Obetech Obesity Research Center, Richmond, VA, USA. Electronic address: ratkinson2@vcu.edu.
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Atkinson
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D050110:Bariatric Surgery; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents
keywords: adipose tissue; drugs; energy balance; energy expenditure; gut hormones; obesity surgery