Editorial: Obesity: What lies beneath?

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic disease that is associated with an excess mortality in a relationship that is best described as a "J"- shaped curve(1). As body mass index (BMI) increases, there is a curvilinear increase in mortality mostly attributable to increased deaths from heart disease(1,2), diabetes, hypertension and some forms of cancer in both men and women(1). The cardiovascular mortality is mediated through decreased levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, elevated triglycerides (TG) and hypertension(1). Increased levels of highly atherogenic, small dense low density lipoprotein (LDL) particles(2), elevation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, a proinflammatory state and insulin resistance(3) may co-exist as part of the "metabolic syndrome". Weight loss studies show that all of these derangements revert towards normal with successful weight reduction(1).


(East African Medical Journal: 2002 79(2): 57)