1 Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Quebec, Montreal, Canada.
2 Metabolism, Obesity, and Nutrition Lab, PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, Quebec, Montreal, Canada.
3 Division of Geriatric Medicine and Research Institute, McGill University Health Centre, Quebec, Montreal, Canada.
4 Research Centre, Centre intégré universitarie de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-I'Île-de-Montréal, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Monréal (CIUSS-NIM, HSCM), Quebec, Montreal, Canada.

Obesity and ageing: Two sides of the same coin.

Obes Rev. 2020 Feb 05;:

Authors: Tam BT, Morais JA, Santosa S

Abstract

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.

PMID: 32020741 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]