Obesity is currently the most widely expanding epidemic disease of
the modern world . It is defined as the excessive storage of body fat
and it is diagnosed mainly according to the World Health Organization
(WHO) Body Mass Index (BMI) criteria. A woman is diagnosed as
obese when BMI is ââ°Â¥ 30 Kg/m2 and overweight when BMI is between
25-29.9 Kg/m2.
Obesity is a multifaceted, chronic inflammatory
disease, characterized by metabolic and endocrine disorders, as well as
behavioral declinations. The two prime factors for the manifestation
of obesity are the genetic predisposition accounting for 60% and the
environmental conditions accounting for another 40% .
Obesity is considered chronic recurrent disease and therefore,
difficult to confront. It is related to other chronic disorders such as
hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis disruptions, hypertension,
diabetes mellitus type 2, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and hormone dependent tumors .
Adipose tissue, apart from the storage and release of energy,
communicates with distant organs and systems, as the central nervous
system. In this way, adipose tissue is involved in the co-ordination
of diverse biological functions including energy, metabolism,
neuroendocrine and immunological reactions and reproduction .
Last date updated on September, 2024