Obesity and Kidney Disease

The rise in the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and an increase in the prevalence of obesity in parallel in the recent years is a great concern. CKD increases the rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and development of end-stage renal disease, and leads to premature death. Although no direct causality link between obesity and CKD can yet be established, this appears highly probable. CKD should be regarded as a major complication of overweight and obesity, regardless of whether the association was independent or through the influence of diabetes, hypertension, CVD and metabolic syndrome. We review the literature on the complex but positive association between obesity and CKD, the pathological effect of excess adiposity in kidney injury and the potential role of weight reduction therapy in reducing the CKD.