Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Editorial
. 2017 Mar 8:4:2054358117698669.
doi: 10.1177/2054358117698669. eCollection 2017.

Obesity and Kidney Disease: Hidden Consequences of the Epidemic

Csaba P Kovesdy  1   2 , Susan L Furth  3 , Carmine Zoccali  4 ; World Kidney Day Steering Committee
Affiliations
Editorial

Obesity and Kidney Disease: Hidden Consequences of the Epidemic

Csaba P Kovesdy et al. Can J Kidney Health Dis. .

Abstract
in English, French

Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic, and its prevalence has been projected to grow by 40% in the next decade. This increasing prevalence has implications for the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and also for chronic kidney disease (CKD). A high body mass index is one of the strongest risk factors for new-onset CKD. In individuals affected by obesity, a compensatory hyperfiltration occurs to meet the heightened metabolic demands of the increased body weight. The increase in intraglomerular pressure can damage the kidneys and raise the risk of developing CKD in the long term. The incidence of obesity-related glomerulopathy has increased 10-fold in recent years. Obesity has also been shown to be a risk factor for nephrolithiasis, and for a number of malignancies including kidney cancer. This year the World Kidney Day promotes education on the harmful consequences of obesity and its association with kidney disease, advocating healthy lifestyle and health policy measures that make preventive behaviors an affordable option.

L’obésité est devenue une épidémie mondiale, et on projette que sa prévalence devrait croître de 40% au cours de la prochaine décennie. Cette augmentation de la prévalence a des conséquences sur le risque de diabète, de maladies cardiovasculaires et d’insuffisance rénale chronique. Un indice de masse corporelle élevé est l’un des plus importants facteurs de risque dans le développement de nouveaux cas d’insuffisance rénale. Chez les individus touchés par l’obésité, une hyperfiltration compensatoire se produit pour répondre à la demande métabolique accrue provoquée par la prise de poids. L’augmentation de la pression intraglomérulaire peut endommager les reins et augmenter le risque de développer de l’insuffisance rénale chronique à long terme. L’incidence des glomérulopathies associées à l’obésité a décuplé au cours de la dernière décennie. L’obésité a également été identifiée comme facteur de risque dans le développement de lithiases rénales et pour un certain nombre de tumeurs malignes, dont le cancer du rein. Cette année, la Journée mondiale du rein met l’accent sur l’éducation au sujet des conséquences néfastes de l’obésité et de son association avec l’insuffisance rénale, en prônant l’adoption d’un mode de vie sain et l’établissement de mesures et de politiques de santé qui font de l’adoption de comportements préventifs un choix approprié.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease; kidney cancer; nephrolithiasis; obesity; prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Putative mechanisms of action whereby obesity causes chronic kidney disease. Note. DM = diabetes mellitus; CVD = cardiovascular disease; HTN = hypertension; CKD = chronic kidney disease.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Obesity-related perihilar focal segmental glomerulosclerosis on a background of glomerulomegaly. Source. Courtesy of Dr. Patrick D. Walker, MD (Arkana Laboratories, Little Rock, Arkansas). Note. Periodic acid–Schiff stain, original magnification ×400.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Forouzanfar MH, Alexander L, Anderson HR, et al. Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks in 188 countries, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet. 2015;386:2287-2323. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Flegal KM, Kruszon-Moran D, Carroll MD, Fryar CD, Ogden CL. Trends in obesity among adults in the United States, 2005 to 2014. JAMA. 2016;315:2284-2291. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cattaneo A, Monasta L, Stamatakis E, et al. Overweight and obesity in infants and pre-school children in the European Union: a review of existing data. Obes Rev. 2010;11:389-398. - PubMed
    1. Olaya B, Moneta MV, Pez O, et al. Country-level and individual correlates of overweight and obesity among primary school children: a cross-sectional study in seven European countries. BMC Public Health. 2015;15:475. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Subramanian SV, Perkins JM, Ozaltin E, Davey SG. Weight of nations: a socioeconomic analysis of women in low- to middle-income countries. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;93:413-421. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types