Obesidad. Pandemia del siglo XXI

Obesity represents one of the most important health problems of our times, nowadays it is considered a health challenge in developed countries, as well as in those that are developing, as they have adopted the typical eating habits of the developed world, but also because of all the associated comorbidities. Obesity is associated with a very broad spectrum of pathophysiological changes such as: volume overload, hypertension, metabolic dysregulation, neurohumoral activation and systemic inflammation. The genes involved in obesity are several and are related to different processes: in the regulation of appetite, the behaviors of food search and metabolic efficiency. Weight loss with changes in lifestyle (diet and exercise) is an adequate way to improve health in patients with risk factors associated with obesity. Although there are medical and surgical treatments to achieve weight loss, these are not chosen as first intention and are only used when the primary treatment has failed.