nature insights: Obesity

Obesity
Vol. 404, No. 6778 (6 Apr 2000)
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Cover illustration
Coloured scanning electron micrograph of fat cells (orange) surrounded and supported by connective tissue fibres (brown) in human adipose connective tissue.
(Images courtesy of Quest/SPL.)

We are all familiar with the term 'obesity', but few of us see it as a real disease. The large and manipulative diet industry characterizes obesity as arising from a lack of self-control, and this is a widely held belief. In fact, obesity is a complex disorder of appetite regulation and energy metabolism controlled by specific biological factors. Genes that predispose to obesity in humans and animals have already been identified and indicate the importance of genetic factors in the development of disease.

Five years ago, leptin was identified as the protein responsible for suppressing appetite. It was hailed as a potential wonder drug and catapulted obesity research to the forefront of biomedical science and public imagination. Yet today, in the developed world the incidence of obesity is rising, and there are now as many obese people in the world as there are people suffering from hunger. The financial burden, health risks and impact on quality of life associated with this epidemic warrant a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate body weight, in order to identify new treatments. We therefore devote this collection of reviews — the first in a new, regular feature called 'Nature Insight' — to the molecular biology of obesity.

By exploring this disease from its basic epidemiology and associated health risks, through to the molecular mechanisms for regulation and possible therapeutic intervention that may exist, we hope that there is something to be gained by the basic scientist, clinician and the general reader.

Ritu Dhand Associate Editor