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The impact of obesity

Life with obesity

Science behind obesity

The impact of obesity

The impact of obesity

Obesity is a chronic disease caused by genetic, metabolic, behavioural, psychological, and environmental factors.3 Severe obesity can reduce life expectancy and mortality, and can affect people irrespective of their age, background or lifestyle.4,5

  

  

The rising prevalence of obesity is one of the major drivers of the increase in cancers and other diseases, including heart and lung disease.6

  

Learn more about obesity-related complications

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Life with obesity

Life with obesity

Alongside an increased risk of developing a host of diseases, people living with obesity often face stigmatisation and fragmented care, which have been recognised as barriers to receiving helpful treatment.2,7

  

The image shown is a model and not a real patient.

  

As a result, people with obesity often struggle with an overall reduced quality of life. Yet, despite the significant impact, obesity remains underdiagnosed and undertreated, with fewer than 40% of people receiving appropriate care.8-10

  

Infographic adapted from data from the ACTION-IO study, the first international study to investigate barriers to obesity management among people with obesity and healthcare professionals (HCPs).8*

  

There has been a global effort tot focus on removing these barriers and helping people with obesity get the support they need. This includes inviting governments to collaborate with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop a comprehensive Global Action Plan.11

  

This World Obesity Day video highlights the urgent need for change in how we support people with obesity.

  

The science behind obesity

The science behind obesity

Obesity is complex...

The pathophysiology of obesity involves an intricate network of factors, including energy balance, metabolic adaptations, how signals are processed in the brain, and hormonal influences.12,13 Successful, sustainable weight loss is therefore a complex interplay of physical and psychological factors that requires a comprehensive, individualistic approach.12,14

Obesity is driven by many individual and environmental factors, including those mentioned below 2,15,16:

  

The image shown is a model and not a real patient.

  

...and it's not about willpower

The central nervous system plays a crucial role in obesity.12,14,17,18 Once obesity is established, powerful neurohormonal factors work against the body's effort to lost weight, making long-term weight loss difficult to maintain.11

  

  

The average person with obesity makes at least 7 serious attempts to lose weight.19* However, biology can trump willpower, and metabolic adaption means that many experience increased hunger and a slower metabolic rate, leading to one-third to two-thirds of people regaining more weight than they initially lost.20

  

Why is maintaining weight loss so difficult?

Watch Professor Arya Sharma explain why some people struggle to maintain long-term weight loss.

  

Talking about weight isn't always easy

Watch our video recognising the challenges and realities of these conversations.

  

Doctor talking with patient

Discover all our resources to support conversations with your patients

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*The ACTION 10 study is the first international study to investigate barriers to obesity management among people with obesity and HCPs in 11 countries worldwide (Australia, Chile, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, UAE, UK). The study examined obesity-related perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours amonge people with obesity (PwO), HCPs, and employer representatives (ERs). A total of 3,008 adult PwO (body mass index 30 kg/m2 by self-reported height and weight), 606 HCPs, and 153 ERs completed surveys in a cross-sectional design. PwO criteria included age, household income, race/ethnicity, gender, and geographic region.8

  

References

  1. World Health Organization. Obesity and overweight. Accessed July 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
  2. World Obesity Federation. World obesity atlas 2024. Accessed June 2025. https://www.worldobesity.org/news/world-obesity-atlas-2024
  3. Busebee B, Ghusn W, Cifuentes L, Acosta A. Obesity: a review of pathophysiology and classification. Mayo Clin Proc. 2023;98(12):1842-1857.
  4. Grover SA., Kaouache M., Rempel P., et al. Years of life lost and healthy life-years lost from diabetes and cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese people: a modelling study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol.  2015;3(2):114-122.
  5. Jarolimova J., Tagoni J., Stern TA. Obesity: its epidemiology, comorbidities, and management. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2013;15(5):PCC.12f01475.
  6. Dobbs R., Sawers C., Thompson F., et al. Overcoming obesity: an initial economic analysis. Accessed June 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/economic%20studies%20temp/our%20insights/how%20the%20world%20could%20better%20fight%20obesity/mgi_overcoming_obesity_executive_summary.pdf
  7. Madlock-Brown C.R., Reynolds B.D. Identifying obesity-related multimorbidity combinations in the United States. Clin Obes. 2019;9:e12336.
  8. Caterson ID, Alfadda AA, Auerbach P, et al. Gaps to bridge: misalignment between perception, reality and actions in obesity. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2019;21(8):1914-1924.
  9. Ma J, Xiao L, Stafford RS. Adult obesity and office-based quality of care in the United States. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2009;17(5):1077-1085.
  10. Sarwer DB, Polonsky HM. The psychosocial burden of obesity. Endocrinol Metab North Am. 2016;45(3):677-688.
  11. World Health Organization. WHO acceleration plan to stop obesity. Accessed July 2025. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/370281/9789240075634-eng.pdf?sequence=1
  12. Gadde KM, Martin CK, Berthoud H-R, Heymsfield SB. Obesity: pathophysiology and management. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;71(1):69-84.
  13. Greenway FL. Physiological adaptations to weight loss and factors favouring weight regain. Int J Obes (Lond). 2015;39(8):1188-1196.
  14. Heymsfield SB, Wadden TA. Mechanisms, pathophysiology, and management of obesity. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(3):254-266.
  15. Omer T. The causes of obesity: an in-depth review. Adv Obes Weight Manag Control. 2020;10(4):90-94.
  16. Bray GA, Kim KK, Wilding JPH; World Obesity Federation. Obesity: a chronic relapsing progressive disease process. A position statement of the World Obesity Federation. Obes Rev. 2017;18(7):715-723.
  17. Sumithran P, Prendergast LA, Delbridge E, et al. Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(17):1597-1604.
  18. Morton GJ, Meek TH, Schwartz MW. Neurobiology of food intake in health and disease. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014;15(6):367-378.
  19. Kaplan LM, Golden A, Jinnett K, et al. Divergence in perceptions and attitudes creates barriers to effective obesity management: results of the national ACTION study. Poster presented at the Obesity Week Annual Meeting; October 31 - November 4, 2016; New Orleans, LA.
  20. Mann T, Tomiyama AJ, Westling E, Lew AM, Samuels B, Chatman J. Medicare's search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. Am Psychol. 2007;62(3):220-233.

  

  

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