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Review
. 2019 Dec 31;12(1):111.
doi: 10.3390/nu12010111.

Role of Overweight and Obesity in Gastrointestinal Disease

Affiliations
Review

Role of Overweight and Obesity in Gastrointestinal Disease

Sara Emerenziani et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide, leading to a severe impairment of overall health. Actually, obesity has been associated with several pathological conditions, causing an excess overall mortality. In particular, overweight and obesity are well known risk factors for a variety of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders i.e., functional GI disorders as well as, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), pancreatitis, and GI cancer. The aim of the present review is to summarize the potential role of overweight and obesity in GI disease with particular focus on plausible biological mechanisms that could explain the association between obesity and GI disease based on the most recent evidence in the literature.

Keywords: cancer; functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs); gastrointestinal motility; overweight and obesity; visceral hypersensitivity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this publication.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relationship between obesity occurrence of gastrointestinal (GI) disease and impaired clinical outcome.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationship between altered microbiota composition and different pathophysiological mechanisms of GI disease in obese patients. SCFA: Short chain fatty acids, IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome, IBD: Inflammatory bowel disorders, NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mechanisms linking dietary lipids and GI symptoms.

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