A Simplified Longitudinal Model for the Development of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Obesity and diabetes are a progressively more and more deleterious hallmark of modern, well fed societies. In order to study the potential impact of strategies designed to obviate the pathological consequences of detrimental lifestyles, a model for the development of Type 2 diabetes geared towards large population simulations would be useful. The present work introduces such a model, representing in simplified fashion the interplay between average glycemia, average insulinemia and functional beta -cell mass, and incorporating the effects of excess food intake or, conversely, of physical activity levels. Qualitative properties of the model are formally established and simulations are shown as examples of its use.