NIH research on obesity and type 2 diabetes: providing the scientific evidence base for actions to improve health

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are urgent and extraordinarily complex health problems. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) thus supports a broad and vigorous portfolio of research aimed toward developing effective strategies for prevention and treatment, and building the scientific evidence base for public policy decisions. Much of this research stems from the creativity of individual investigators. Above and beyond these studies, the NIH uses a variety of mechanisms, in consultation with external scientific and lay communities, to foster research in emerging disciplines, encourage new collaborative efforts and promote research translation from basic discoveries to clinical trials (from bench to bedside) and from clinical trials to medical practice and community awareness (from bedside to practice). These efforts encompass extensive research on obesity's many devastating comorbidities in addition to type 2 diabetes: cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and other diseases and disorders. Given the topic of this month's special content, however, this Commentary focuses on obesity and diabetes, including CVD research associated with both.