“What’s the damage? Give it to me!”: Type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity management in primary care with implications for biomedical science, clinical practice and population health

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a condition that defines medicine in the 21st century. Multifactorial individual and environmental causes have given rise to a non-communicable disease that challenges traditional prevention and treatment paradigms. In this report, the author explores the case of one patient with T2DM he met during his general practice placement in South Auckland. He argued that in the face of such interwoven challenges, an understanding spanning from the pathophysiology to the pathological environment—and an ability to bridge these understandings in the clinical context—is essential in supporting patients with this complex condition.