Consequences and comorbidities associated with obesity

This chapter reviews the importance of diabetes as a major complication of obesity, starting with examining the epidemiological relationship between diabetes and obesity. It is clear from the epidemiological data reported that obesity is strongly associated with onset and, in particular, the premature onset, of type 2 diabetes. However, in established heart disease and heart failure, obesity is associated with lower mortality. The chapter considers the epidemiological evidence linking adiposity with the development of cancer, and describes the proposed mechanisms by which excess body fat may impact on cancer risk. The global prevalence of osteoarthritis continues to rise, both because of an…