Obesity currently affects 35.7% of Americans, resulting in an estimated health care cost of $147 billion every year.  Obesity rates for adults and children have increased dramatically in the past 20 years, with approximately 74% of the American population being overweight.  Animal models of obesity are either genetic, or diet-induced, and involve monitoring the animals weight during treatment, sometimes coupled with measurement of other parameters (serum lipids or cholesterol for example)

Diabetes affects approximately 26 million people in the United States, with almost 2 million cases diagnosed annual.  In addition, an estimated 79 million people are thought to suffer from pre-diabetes, and are therefore at risk of developing diabetes.  Diabetes is a frequent side-effect of obesity, usually due to the development of insulin resistance, where tissues fail to respond to insulin.  Diabetes increases the risks of heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness and lower limb amputation (due to circulatory problems), as well as damage to the nervous system.  Rodent models of diabetes can be genetic, or chemically induced and are monitored by measuring blood and/or urine glucose levels, and insulin levels.

Problems with wound healing on the lower extremities are frequently seen in patients with diabetes, but occur in other patients with poor circulation.  These wounds often lead to amputation when infections cannot be controlled. Animal models of wound healing in rodents involve making a standard size wound on all animals, then taking daily measurements to track the rate of healing.