title: [The contribution of epidemiology to the definition of obesity and its risk factors].
abstract: Whereas up to the end of the last century overweight reflected the privilege of the high society and her relative good health, the recent epidemiological studies have assessed the relations between body weight and general or cause specific morbidity and mortality. The major diseases associated with obesity are hypertension, atherosclerosis and diabetes, as well as certain types of cancer. Less well known complications include hepatic steatosis, gallbladder diseases, pulmonary function impairment, endocrine abnormalities, obstetric complications, trauma to the weight bearing joints, gout, cutaneous diseases, proteinuria, increased hemoglobin concentration and possibly immunologic impairments. From these wide epidemiological studies arise the definition of obesity: with an excess of 20% beyond the desirable weight, the complications bound to the overweight become statistically more frequent. Over there a U or J shaped curve illustrates the relation between the overweight and the degree of these various complications. An excess of 45 kg or more represents the critical level which defined "morbid obesity" with its own complications, the most important are sudden unexplained death, ventilatory disorders, circulatory congestion and functional limitations in activities of daily living and of course psychological consequences. When for certain complications, such as diabetes, the relationship with the overweight is evident, discrepancies between certain studies, especially for the cardiovascular diseases, had focused the attention on the regional patterns of fat distribution. Cross-sectional studies have shown abdominal obesity to be strongly associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease, stroke and death independent of the total degree of obesity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Héraïef
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000150:complications; D012307:Risk Factors
vernacular_title: Les contributions de l'épidémiologie dans la définition de l'obésité et de ses facteurs de risque.