Chronic Kidney Disease: Its Relationship With Obesity

Cureus. 2022 Oct 21;14(10):e30535. doi: 10.7759/cureus.30535. eCollection 2022 Oct.

Abstract

A significant obstacle to avoiding chronic illnesses in people worldwide is the increasing development of obesity. They are supported by economic expansion, mechanized transportation, a rise in sedentary behavior, and a switch from a wholesome, healthy diet to processed foods and high-calorie meals, including fast food and sugary drinks. Many developed or emerging countries have seen the prevalence of obesity in their populations increase twice over. Therefore, it must now be treated as a disease of concern. Since obesity is intimately linked to diabetes and hypertension and is linked to hemodynamic, structural, and histological renal alterations, it has been identified as one of the major causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Type 2 diabetes mellitus (Type-2 DM) and hypertension are directly related to obesity. A lack of insulin sensitivity intensifies the effects of angiotensin-II, aggravates proteinuria, and triggers the production of inflammatory cytokines, which contribute to the pathophysiological mechanism underlying renal damage. These conditions include glomerular hyperfiltration, hypertrophy, hypercellularity, and widening of mesangial regions. These days, obesity is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. If a child is obese from birth, then the negative consequences of obesity on the kidneys also occur in childhood. Although it is simple to prevent, it is recommended that children be encouraged to play outside, eat a decent, nutritious, and balanced diet, and consume as little fast food as possible. Obesity is a problem that affects people from their earliest years of life. We need to increase public awareness so that people in their middle years consider health and well-being a priority. They must be aware of the subsequent issues that even mild obesity might cause, such as CKD, chronic cardiac illnesses, hypertension, diabetes, etc. We looked up the following terms in PubMed, Medline, and Google: "obesity," "CKD," "Diabetes," "Hypertension," "Developmental Programming/developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD)," and "Renal programming" to describe the relationship between CKD and obesity as a risk factor in this review.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease (ckd); developmental programming/dohad; diabetes; hypertension; obesity; renal programming.

Publication types

  • Review