Obesity has a significant clinical and economic impact because it can be the underlying cause of many comorbidities, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.1
Impact of Obesity
Obesity has a significant clinical and economic impact
because it can be the underlying cause of many
comorbidities, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.1
Why is it so hard to lose weight and why does it return? As shown here, there are multiple factors
that may affect weight loss and weight maintenance.
When weight is lost, the body
increases the hunger hormone and
decreases the fullness hormone3
Certain genes may play an important role
in how much weight is gained4,5
Not enough sleep and lack
of physical activity may be
contributing factors6
Eating healthy may be challenging
(eg, location, price, time to prepare).
Some individuals have no place to
exercise5,6
Would you like to learn more about the science of obesity? This video provides a basic scientific understanding of obesity, its potential causes, and potential treatments.
References: 1. Garvey WT, Mechanick JI, Brett EM, et al; Reviewers of the AACE/ACE Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American College of Endocrinology comprehensive clinical practice guidelines for medical care of patients with obesity. Endocr Pract. 2016;22(suppl 3):1-203. 2. Recognition of Obesity as a Disease H-440.842. American Medical Association. Accessed May 18, 2023. https://policysearch.ama-assn.org/policyfinder/detail/H-440.842?uri=%2FAMADoc%2FHOD.xml-0-3858.xml 3. Sumithran P, Prendergast LA, Delbridge E, et al. Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(17):1597-1604. 4. Hebebrand J, Hinney A, Knoll N, Volckmar AL, Scherag A. Molecular genetic aspects of weight regulation. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2013;110(19):338-344. 5. Bray GA, Kim KK, Wilding JPH. Obesity: a chronic relapsing progressive disease process. A position statement of the World Obesity Federation. Obes Rev. 2017;18(7):715-723. 6. Schwartz MW, Seeley RJ, Zeltser LM, et al. Obesity pathogenesis: an Endocrine Society Scientific Statement. Endocr Rev. 2017;38(4):267-296.