Diet-induced models for obesity and type 2 diabetes

Because of the consumption of western high calorie diet and sedentary lifestyles obesity is rapidly becoming the most important health problem challenging most developed countries. In addition to promoting obesity, diets with a dense caloric content are associated with an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes [Marshall, J.A. et al. (1994) Dietary fat predicts conversion from impaired glucose tolerance to NIDDM: The San Luis Valley Diabetes Study. Diabetes Care 17, 50–56]. Animal models, in which obesity and type 2 diabetes are induced by feeding a diet enriched in caloric content are of increasing interest to develop new therapeutic strategies.

Section editors:Cord Dohrmann, Matthias Austen, Ursula Kreuzberg – DeveloGen AG, Marie-Curie-Strasse 7, 37079 Goettingen, Germany