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Obesity and ageing: Two sides of the same coin
Author(s) -
Tam Bjorn T.,
Morais Jose A.,
Santosa Sylvia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
obesity reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.845
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1467-789X
pISSN - 1467-7881
DOI - 10.1111/obr.12991
Subject(s) - ageing , obesity , life expectancy , epigenetics , systemic inflammation , inflammation , telomere , medicine , gerontology , mitochondrial dna , biology , physiology , genetics , dna , gene , environmental health , population
Summary Conditions and comorbidities of obesity mirror those of ageing and age‐related diseases. Obesity and ageing share a similar spectrum of phenotypes such as compromised genomic integrity, impaired mitochondrial function, accumulation of intracellular macromolecules, weakened immunity, shifts in tissue and body composition, and enhanced systemic inflammation. Moreover, it has been shown that obesity reduces life expectancy by 5.8 years in men and 7.1 years in women after the age of 40. Shorter life expectancy could be because obesity holistically accelerates ageing at multiple levels. Besides jeopardizing nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA integrity, obesity modifies the DNA methylation pattern, which is associated with epigenetic ageing in different tissues. Additionally, other signs of ageing are seen in individuals with obesity including telomere shortening, systemic inflammation, and functional declines. This review aims to show how obesity and ageing are “two sides of the same coin” through discussing how obesity predisposes an individual to age‐related conditions, illness, and disease. We will further demonstrate how the mechanisms that perpetuate the early‐onset of chronic diseases in obesity parallel those of ageing.