Spring 2027

The Science of Obesity and Diabetes

Advanced course covering the science of obesity and diabetes, including endocrinology history, hormonal metabolism, and clinical treatments like bariatric surgery and pharmacotherapy.

offering recorded2 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

What you’ll be able to do

  • Describe the prevalence of obesity and diabetes and discuss the impact of these conditions on health care costs

  • Describe the history of endocrinology and the discovery of insulin and illustrate how key scientific contributions have influenced the modern practice of medicine

  • Discuss the biology of digestion and calorie expenditure on weight regulation and the development of obesity.

  • Illustrate the interplay among neurological, microbiota, and hormonal effects driving insulin resistance, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

  • Illustrate the roles of insulin-sensitive tissues in the development of the pathological inflammatory, hyperglycemic, and dyslipidemic state(s) of obesity and diabetes.

  • Identify obesity-related diseases and syndromes, and discuss unique challenges these pose in the care of the obese/diabetic patient

  • Discuss the mechanisms behind pediatric obesity and summarize the effects on childhood development and ways to combat and prevent pediatric obesity

  • Identify the unique challenges in assessing the adult patient with obesity, including history and physical considerations as well as lab abnormalities commonly seen in the obese

  • Discuss the available lifestyle, medical, and surgical treatments for obesity and diabetes, demonstrating knowledge of the science behind these treatments

  • Identify ways that discrimination and prejudice of obese/diabetic patients exists and affects their care and outcomes

  • Explain the importance of communicating about obesity and diabetes with vulnerable patients, and ways to educate and prevent obesity in at-risk populations

  • Describe the role of education and community engagement in recognizing, treating, and preventing obesity

  • Synthesize acquired knowledge of basic science and population health implications of obesity/diabetes biology and treatment to design and defend therapeutic plans for real-life patient cases.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades

No recorded grade history.

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

MED SC-M 810, 811, 812, and 813

SURGERY 976

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 008Classroom Instruction0 / 200

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

The science of diabetes and obesity as it correlates to the clinical setting. The history of endocrinology and discovery of insulin will provide the basis for understanding hormonal mechanisms controlling fuel metabolism and how these processes become dysfunctional in different disease states. Topics will include pancreatic and extrapancreatic control of metabolism, and diseases linked with obesity, including PCOS, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Lifestyle, medical, and surgical treatments of obesity and diabetes, including pharmacologic mechanisms of insulin and non-insulin diabetes therapeutics and bariatric surgery, will be highlighted. The public health perspective will shine light on societal factors that influence obesity and diabetes care. Provides an advanced scientific foundation with which to approach evidence-based care and treatment of individuals with obesity and/or diabetes.

difficulty & workload

No workload feedback recorded.

Topics

  • Endocrinology history and hormonal control of fuel metabolism.
  • Pancreatic and extrapancreatic metabolic control and associated diseases like PCOS and cancer.
  • Clinical management strategies including pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery.
  • Public health perspectives and societal factors influencing care.

Skills

  • Analyze the prevalence and healthcare cost impacts of obesity and diabetes in clinical settings.
  • Explain the historical development of endocrinology and its influence on modern medical practice.
  • Evaluate lifestyle, medical, and surgical treatment options based on underlying scientific mechanisms.
  • Design and defend evidence-based therapeutic plans for patients with obesity or diabetes.

Grades

Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

No grades available yet.

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
SURGERY 976 · Spring 2027

The Science of Obesity and Diabetes

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:936:025232",
    "course_id": "SURGERY 976",
    "course_uid": "course_57fdfa1d85d83189a31b0f06",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "025232",
    "source_subject_id": "936",
    "title": "The Science of Obesity and Diabetes",
    "credits_min": 2,
    "credits_max": 2,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews

No records available.

Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "fb08fb0e4b8777e4d7fe682fcd9f93dd972eec3a3ec002f26be1105a71c2cf87",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}