Navigating the Complex Nature of Obesity Between Being A Chronic Disease or Personal Responsibility: Have You Betrayed Your Body or Have Your Body Betrayed You?

Abstract

Obesity is a complex multifactorial condition that accumulated excess body fat leads to negative effects on health. Obesity continues to accelerate resulting in a pandemic that shows no significant signs of slowing down any time soon. Raised body mass index (BMI) is a risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders, resulting in dramatic decrease of life quality and expectancy. The main cause of obesity is long-term energy imbalance between consumed calories and expended calories. Here, we explore the biological mechanisms of obesity with the aim of providing actionable treatment strategies to achieve a healthy body weight from nature to nurture. This review summarizes the global trends in obesity with a special focus on the pathogenesis of obesity from genetic factors to epigenetic factors, from social environmental factors to microenvironment factors.