Obesity: The Fat Tissue Disease Version of Cancer

Abstract

Obesity is a disease with high potential for fatality. It perfectly fits the disease definition, as cancer does. This is because it damages body structure and functions, both mechanically and biologically, and alters physical, mental, and social health. In addition, it shares many common morbid characteristics with the most feared disease, cancer. For example, it is influenced by a sophisticated interaction between a person’s genetics, the environment, and an increasing number of other backgrounds. Furthermore, it displays abnormal cell growth and proliferation events, only limited to white fat, resulting in adipose tissue taking up an increasing amount of space within the body. This occurs through fat “metastases” and via altered signaling that further aggravates the pathology of obesity by inducing ubiquitous dishomeostasis. These metastases can be made graver by angiogenesis, which might boost diseased tissue growth. More common features with cancer include its progressive escalation through different levels of severity and its possibility of re-onset after recovery. Despite all these similarities with cancer, obesity is substantially less agitating for most people. Thus, the ideas proposed herein could have utility to sensitize the public opinion about the hard reality of obesity. This is increasingly needed, as the obesity pandemic has waged a fierce war against our bodies and society in general, while there is still doubt about whether it is a real disease or not. Hence, raising public consciousness to properly face health issues is crucial to improving our health instead of gaining weight unhealthily. It is obviously illogical to fight cancer extremely seriously on the one hand and to consider dying with obesity as self-inflicted on the other. In fact, obesity merits a top position among the most lethal diseases besides cancer.

In Vitro Mimicking of Obesity-Induced Biochemical Environment to Study Obesity Impacts on Cells and Tissues

“…Obesity is characterized by adipocytes proliferation [ 8 , 9 ] and adipose tissue growth and remodeling [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Obesity properties have even been compared to cancer [ 13 ], and the disease has also been described as neuroendocrine reprogramming [ 14 ].…”

Tricking the Brain with Leptin to Limit Post Liposuction and Post Bariatric Surgery Weight Regain?

“…It is not only considered a disease [ 14 , 15 ] but also a risk factor or a cause for diverse health problems, such as cardiovascular diseases [ 16 ], cancer [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], sleeping apnea [ 16 ], type 2 diabetes [ 20 ], dyslipidemia [ 21 , 22 ], and impaired regeneration [ 23 , 24 ], as well as vascular dysfunction, on which obesity has an influence [ 25 ]. Obesity pathogenic patterns represent neuroendocrine reprogramming [ 26 ] and have even been compared to cancer, in terms of progression, recurrence and metastasis [ 27 ], and also to ageing, in terms of molecular pathogenesis and epigenetics [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Different animal models [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ] have been developed to study obesity, including molecular and genetic mechanisms [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], the impact of diets and to test various therapeutic approaches.…”

Association between triglyceride glucose index and risk of cancer: A meta-analysis

“…Cancer is the result of a serious disruption in the regulation of cell growth and proliferation, usually manifesting as a local abnormal tissue mass in the body ( 1 , 2 ). Cancer can not only infiltrate and grow in the primary site and involve adjacent organs or tissues, but also spread to other parts of the body through a variety of ways (lymphatic metastasis, hematogenous metastasis and seeding metastasis), which will seriously increase its harmfulness ( 3 , 4 ).…”