Impact of environmental pollution on the obesogenic environment

Abstract

Abstract Obesity figures in the world continue to increase, representing a multifactorial and multidimensional problem. Efforts to contribute to reduction in obesity have led to the study of this condition from different approaches, including the obesogenic environment (OE), which is harmful to health due to the multiple factors that compose the OE. Some of the most important factors are stress, lifestyle, and urban design, framed in a food system that provides caloric foods and contributes to intake of hypercaloric diets. The OE exacerbates the obesogenic process and chronic low-grade inflammation. However, these factors are not the only ones responsible for obesity. Environmental pollutants also contribute, because they interfere with metabolic processes that regulate lipid accumulation and increase body adiposity. In this review, we analyze the relationship between pollution and obesogenic processes. We postulate the inclusion of environmental pollution within the factors and definition of the OE.