The actual burden of obesity—accounting for multimorbidity

Abstract

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing worldwide, and this is forecast to continue in the coming years. One in two adults in the USA are projected to have obesity by 2030, and about one in four to have severe obesity. 1 Ward ZJ Bleich SN Cradock AL et al. Projected U.S. state-level prevalence of adult obesity and severe obesity. N Engl J Med. 2019; 381: 2440-2450 Crossref PubMed Scopus (434) Google Scholar Excessive weight has been causally linked to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, 2 Larsson SC Burgess S Causal role of high body mass index in multiple chronic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of Mendelian randomization studies. BMC Med. 2021; 19: 320 Crossref PubMed Scopus (5) Google Scholar and its attributable disability-adjusted life-years have been estimated to have more than doubled since 1990. 3 Dai H Alsalhe TA Chalghaf N Riccò M Bragazzi NL Wu J The global burden of disease attributable to high body mass index in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study. PLoS Med. 2020; 17e1003198 Crossref Scopus (88) Google Scholar However, the studies that established these associations often assessed a single or a few diseases rather than reflecting the actual burden of the entire clinical spectrum, when several obesity-related morbidities coexisted. Body-mass index and risk of obesity-related complex multimorbidity: an observational multicohort studyObesity is associated with diverse, increasing disease burdens, and might represent an important target for multimorbidity prevention that avoids the complexities of multitarget preventive regimens. Full-Text PDF Open Access