Obesity

Obesity and its associated disorders are leading causes of morbidity and premature mortality around the world. Obese persons are also vulnerable to low self-esteem and depression because of the psychological and social stigmata that often accompany being overweight. Despite conventional wisdom that obesity results from deficient self-control, research has provided insight into the physiology behind unwanted weight gain. Obesity is recognized as a chronic condition resulting from an interaction between environmental influences and an individual’s genetic predisposition. This review contains 3 figures, 13 tables, and 126 references. Keywords: Obesity, Body mass index, Hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, pulmonary disease, gastroesophageal reflux, sleep apnea