Obesity: The Fat Tissue Disease Version of Cancer
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 char...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Cells |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/12/1872 |
| _version_ | 1797489023693881344 |
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| author | Besma Boubertakh Cristoforo Silvestri Vincenzo Di Marzo |
| author_facet | Besma Boubertakh Cristoforo Silvestri Vincenzo Di Marzo |
| author_sort | Besma Boubertakh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:10:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e5d469bd6aa44565952a5d5c2db34d34 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:10:37Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cells |
| spelling | doaj.art-e5d469bd6aa44565952a5d5c2db34d342023-11-23T16:00:42ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092022-06-011112187210.3390/cells11121872Obesity: The Fat Tissue Disease Version of CancerBesma Boubertakh0Cristoforo Silvestri1Vincenzo Di Marzo2Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Département of Médecine, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6, CanadaCentre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Département of Médecine, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6, CanadaCentre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Département of Médecine, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6, CanadaObesity 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/12/1872obesitydiseasecancerwhite adipose tissuecell growthcell proliferation |
| spellingShingle | Besma Boubertakh Cristoforo Silvestri Vincenzo Di Marzo Obesity: The Fat Tissue Disease Version of Cancer Cells obesity disease cancer white adipose tissue cell growth cell proliferation |
| title | Obesity: The Fat Tissue Disease Version of Cancer |
| title_full | Obesity: The Fat Tissue Disease Version of Cancer |
| title_fullStr | Obesity: The Fat Tissue Disease Version of Cancer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Obesity: The Fat Tissue Disease Version of Cancer |
| title_short | Obesity: The Fat Tissue Disease Version of Cancer |
| title_sort | obesity the fat tissue disease version of cancer |
| topic | obesity disease cancer white adipose tissue cell growth cell proliferation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/12/1872 |
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