2025 PRESENTER PROFILES
ADA Diabetes Journal Symposium—Shifting from Quantity to Quality
Saturday, June 21, at 4:30 p.m. CT
Room W187 A-C • McCormick Place Convention Center
Obesity Sarcopenia—Implications for Weight Loss Therapies
John A. Batsis, MD
Associate Professor,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
What is your presentation about?
The goal of the presentation is to outline the syndrome of sarcopenic obesity that generally occurs with aging and highlights the complex interplay between fat and muscle. We will discuss the challenges in identifying this syndrome, highlight recent definitions, and present data on how sarcopenic obesity can occur with weight loss, particularly in older adults. This is even more relevant in the context of incretin-based therapies that lead to significant weight loss.
How do you hope your presentation will impact diabetes research or care?
Lifestyle-based therapies, including newer anti-obesity medicines, can lead to weight loss. The goal is to highlight the benefits and cautions of weight loss, particularly with significant weight loss as observed with incretin-based therapies. We anticipate sharing with the audience some of the ill effects in treatment and how they can be mitigated.
How did you become involved with this area of diabetes research or care?
Obesity has been known to be a great public health concern for the last five decades. I realized about 15–20 years ago that no one was evaluating this epidemic in older adults and how it was affecting their function and quality of life. Thus, I decided to explore this both from a research standpoint but also a clinical standpoint. The treatment of obesity has evolved, both in patients with diabetes and those without, and it is helpful to understand how we can target the right interventions to the right patients.
