PURPOSE: Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in Canada; however, lifestyle changes (e.g. changes in diet and physical activity) can prevent or postpone the development of this metabolic disease. The proposed research project hypothesizes that knowledge of the diabetic and obese metabolic phenotype (i.e. the metabotype) has value in predicting these diseases, preventing their downstream complications, and personalizing therapeutic and lifestyle interventions to improve diabetes and obesity management. The overall purpose of this research is to identify biomarkers that uniquely reflect the metabolic perturbations associated with type 2 diabetes and obesity. This information will be invaluable in the design of more personalized interventions to manage these disease states