The impact of fat distribution in obesity
Obesity remains the most common disease in the population of economically developed countries. 16-25% of the inhabitants of these countries have a body weight exceeding the norm by more than 15%. There has been an increase in the incidence of obesity over the past 20 years. The connection between overweight and such formidable diseases as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is well known. The current state and especially long-term results of the treatment of obesity remain unsatisfactory. It is known that in more than 80% of patients the initial body weight is restored within the first 3-6 months after the end of the course of treatment. The mechanisms of the development of diseases associated with obesity have not been fully studied, and therefore pathogenetically substantiated treatment regimens have not been developed. After the classic work of J. Vague, performed more than 40 years ago, there are many studies showing that the risk of developing diseases associated with obesity depends not only on the degree of excess body weight, patient age, duration of the disease, but also on the distribution of fat. According to some reports, the dependence on the distribution of fat is more pronounced than the dependence on other factors, in particular on the degree of obesity. It turned out that complications are more characteristic for patients with a predominant accumulation of fat on the trunk and in the abdominal cavity (android, or abdominal, or visceral, or upper obesity) and are less typical for patients with a predominant deposition of fat on the buttocks and hips (gynoid, or gluteofemoral, or lower obesity).