obesity

Overview

Obesity is a chronic, progressive disease characterized by excess adiposity that adversely affects health. Clinically, it is commonly defined using body mass index (BMI), with obesity typically corresponding to BMI ≥30 kg/m², although body-fat distribution and obesity-related complications are increasingly recognized as important for risk stratification. Obesity is associated with insulin resistance, low-grade systemic inflammation, dyslipidemia, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), cardiovascular disease, heart failure, sleep apnea, infertility, and several pregnancy-related complications.

Biologically, obesity reflects a complex interaction among genetic susceptibility, epigenetic regulation, diet, physical activity, endocrine signaling, gut microbiota, and adipose tissue dysfunction. Recent research has emphasized pathways involving GLP-1 receptor signaling, GIP/GLP-1 co-agonism, leptin and adiponectin biology, AMPK/TBK1, NF-κB, TLR4/MyD88, and other metabolic and inflammatory circuits. Because obesity influences multiple organ systems, it is both a disease entity in its own right and a major modifier of outcomes across surgery, transplantation, cardiometabolic disease, reproductive health, and cancer.

Recent Publications Focus

Below is a summary of the newest research publications targeting obesity (sorted by publication date).

Recent research demonstrates significant heterogeneity in obesity associations across US populations. Socioeconomic status (SES) measures including education and income showed variable patterns of association with obesity prevalence across racial and ethnic groups, with higher educational attainment and income independently associated with lower obesity rates among non-Hispanic White and Asian participants, but demonstrating smaller or even reversed associations among other racial and ethnic groups, particularly non-Hispanic Black participants [PMID 42418390]. At the global level, obesity has been recognized as a modifiable risk factor for cancer prevention efforts, underscoring its broader impact on disease burden [PMID 42190157]. In clinical practice, real-world diagnosis and treatment of obesity remains suboptimal in some healthcare settings, with substantial Cardiometabolic comorbidity burden documented across obesity classes [PMID 42130082].

In surgical and obstetric contexts, obesity emerges as an important comorbidity with variable effects on outcomes. Among adults undergoing robot-assisted pyeloplasty for ureteropelvic junction obstruction, increased body mass index (BMI) was not associated with inferior perioperative outcomes, complication rates, pain recovery, or surgical success [PMID 42324413]. Similarly, in robotic partial nephrectomy for renal tumors, obesity contributed additively to surgical complexity and outcomes but did not interact significantly with anatomical factors in predicting surgical trifecta achievement [PMID 42319664]. Prepregnancy obesity represents a well-established risk factor for preeclampsia and eclampsia, with evidence suggesting variation in this association by race and ethnicity [PMID 42294754].

Behavioral and environmental factors demonstrate complex associations with obesity. Depression medication mediated the relationship between BMI and cigarette smoking, with varying mediating effects across weight categories, suggesting that body mass index should be considered in smoking cessation interventions [PMID 42418420]. Environmental exposures including particulate matter (PM2.5), road traffic noise, and reduced greenness were consistently associated with obesity-related measures across sexes, and multiple exposures acted additively to increase obesity risk, highlighting environmental modification as a potential prevention strategy [PMID 41748006]. In people with HIV at low-to-moderate cardiovascular risk, switching to integrase inhibitors was associated with increased obesity risk [PMID 41911941]. Family-centered lifestyle interventions have been explored as an approach to address overweight and obesity in school-aged children through e-Health delivery models [PMID 42086257].