Short Biography
Abdul G. Dulloo studied at the University of London (UK) for a Bachelor degree in Physiology and a PhD degree in Nutrition, followed by a 2-year postdoctoral research fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Boston (USA). He subsequently worked as a research associate in Physiology at the University of Geneva in Switzerland before joining the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) as a lecturer in Physiology and Nutrition, and establishing the Laboratory of Nutritional Energetics and Body Composition Regulation. His current research interests in metabolic health (obesity, sarcopenic obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular risks) encompass the following themes:
Phenotyping for metabolic traits that predispose humans to obesity, obesity relapse, sarcopenic obesity & cardiometabolic diseases
Search for Bioactive food ingredients as modulators of thermogenesis, fat oxidation, lean-fat partitioning and muscle anabolism & strength
Affiliations
Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Cardiovascular System, Faculty of Science & Medicine, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Obesity Research Unit, Biochemistry Dept., Central Health Laboratory, Victoria Hospital, Ministry of Health & Wellness, Mauritius
University of Fribourg, Switzerland
abdul.dulloo@alumni.unifr.ch
Contact
Core Reviews Integrating our Research
I. Novel Concepts in (Patho)Physiology of Body Composition Regulation
Dulloo AG. Physiology of weight regain: lessons from the classic Minnesota Starvation Experiment on human body composition regulation. Obesity Reviews 2021; 22 (Suppl 2):e13189. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13189
Dulloo AG, Jacquet J, Montani JP, Schutz Y. How dieting makes the lean fatter: from a perspective of body composition autoregulation through adipostats and proteinstats awaiting discovery. Obesity Reviews 2015;16 (Suppl 1):25-35. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12253
Dulloo AG, Jacquet J, Seydoux J, Montani JP. The thrifty ‘catch-up fat’ phenotype: its impact on insulin sensitivity during growth trajectories to obesity and metabolic syndrome. International Journal of Obesity 2006; 30: S23-S35. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803516
II. Body Composition, Energy Expenditure & Physical Activity Phenotyping
Ramessur V, Hunma S, Joonas N, Ramessur BN, Schutz Y, Montani JP, Dulloo AG. Visceral-to-peripheral adiposity ratio: a critical determinant of sex and ethnic differences in cardiovascular risks among Asian Indians and African Creoles in Mauritius. International Journal of Obesity 2024;48(8):1092-1102.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-024-01517-3
Dulloo AG, Jacquet J, Solinas G, Montani JP, Schutz Y. Body composition phenotypes in pathways to obesity and the metabolic syndrome. International Journal of Obesity 2010; 34, Suppl 2: S4-17. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.234
Dulloo AG, Montani JP, Schutz Y. Isometric thermogenesis at rest & during movement: a neglected variable in energy expenditure & obesity predisposition. Obesity Reviews 2017;18 (Suppl 1):56-64. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12505
III. Adaptive thermogenesis & underlying mechanisms
Dulloo AG, Schutz Y. Adaptive Thermogenesis in Resistance to Obesity Therapies: Issues in Quantifying Thrifty Energy Expenditure Phenotypes in Humans. Current Obesity Reports 2015;4:230-40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-015-0156-9
Dulloo AG. Peripheral thyroid hormone deiodination: entry points to elucidate mechanisms of metabolic adaptation during weight regain. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2023; 31(5):1179-1182. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.23721
Dulloo AG, Gubler M, Montani JP, Seydoux J, Solinas G. Substrate cycling between de novo lipogenesis and lipid oxidation: a thermogenic mechanism against skeletal muscle lipotoxicity and glucolipotoxicity. International Journal of Obesity 2004; 28 (Suppl. 4): S29-S37. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802861
Dulloo AG, Samec S. Uncoupling proteins: their roles in adaptive thermogenesis and substrate metabolism reconsidered. British Journal of Nutrition 2001; 86: 123-139. https://doi.org/10.1079/bjn2001412
IV. Bioactive Food Ingredients
Dulloo AG. The search for compounds that stimulate thermogenesis in obesity management: from pharmaceuticals to functional food ingredients. Obesity Reviews 2011; 12: 866-83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2011.00909.x
Monnard CR, Dulloo AG. Polyunsaturated fatty acids as modulators of fat mass and lean mass in human body composition regulation and cardiometabolic health. Obesity Reviews 2021;22 (Suppl 2):e13197. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13197
Dulloo AG. Translational issues in targeting brown adipose tissue thermogenesis for human obesity management. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2013; 1302(1):1-10.https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12304
Invited Speaker at Major International Conferences/Symposia/Workshops (Last 5 years)
International Congress on Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome & Asia-Oceania Conference on Obesity (ICOMES & AOCO 2019), 29-31 August, Seoul, Korea
Special Lecture: Does Dieting and Weight Cycling make People Fatter?
10th Fribourg Obesity Research Conference (FORC), Sept 12, 2019, Fribourg, Switzerland
Theme: Pathogenesis of Obesity & CardioMetabolic Diseases: From the legacy of Ancel Keys to Current Concepts
Lecture: The Great Starvation Experiment: its impact on current concepts of appetite control and adaptive thermogenesis in body composition autoregulation.
Joint European and International Congress on Obesity (ECO-ICO 2020), May 17-20, Dublin, Ireland
Review/Topic Session: ‘Physical Activity: Impact for Weight Management‘.
Lecture: Low-level physical activity: impact on weight regulation and cardiometabolic risks
42nd ESPEN Congress - The European Society for Clinical Nutrition & Metabolism, Sept 19–22, 2020, Lyon, France.
Session: Protein-energy ratio from food to body compartments
Lecture: Adaptation of protein-energy partitioning for better survival in humans
AOCO-MASO 2021 Asia-Oceania Conference on Obesity, 6-8 April 2021, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Session : Mechanisms underpinning obesity
Lecture: Famine reactions in pathways to obesity
8th ESPEN Symposium on Obesity and Malnutrition: The Double Burden, April 18-19, 2021, Bologna, Italy
Session I: Weight control, central regulation and changes in body composition
Lecture: Metabolic adaptation in different weight states and biological factors impeding weight loss
30th Annual Congress of European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG), 10-13th November 2021, Budapest, Hungary
Plenary lecture: Nutrient-partitioning: evolution of concepts about its impact on human susceptibility to obesity and cardiometabolic diseases
5th RACMEM - Recent Advances & Controversies in the Measurement of Energy Metabolism, October 6-9, 2022, Québec City, Canada,
Session: Heat-producing organs, Organites and Pathways
Lecture: Mechanisms of adaptive thermogenesis driving catch-up fat during weight regain
30th European Congress on Obesity (ECO-2023), May 17-20, 2023, Dublin, Ireland
Session: Thermoregulation in Obesity Susceptibility and Obesity Management: Emerging Concepts, Issues and Opportunities
Lecture: Core body temperature: a neglected variable in weight regulation and obesity susceptibility
American Diabetes Association 83rd Scientific session, June 23-26 2023, San Diego, CA, USA
Session: Metabolic Adaptation to Weight Loss in Humans
Lecture: The Role of Adaptive Thermogenesis in Weight Loss and Regain
Conference on ‘Human Appetite Control, Weight Variations and Movement Behaviours’, November 06-07, 2023, Clermont-Ferrand University, France
Session: Nutritional and energetic adaptations to Weight variations
Lecture: Determinants of hyperphagia and fat overshoot after weight loss: lessons from the Minnesota Starvation Experiment.
Sarcopenic Obesity Global Leadership Initiative (SOGLI): In collaboration with ESPEN and EASO; November 09-10, 2023, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Session: Body composition assessment: new perspectives
Lecture: Lean-fat partitioning as a control system in body composition autoregulation
12th International Symposium on In Vivo Body Composition Studies (ISBCR 2025) 20-22 February 2025, Auckland, New Zealand.
I. Satellite Mini-Symposium: Body Composition Dynamics & Energy Expenditure Patterns
Lecture: Adaptive thermogenesis driving catch-up fat during weight regain:novel mechanistic insights
II: Plenary session: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Body Composition Research
Lecture: South-Asians and Diaspora: Which body composition phenotypes make them so prone to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases?