[Abnormality in feeding and body weight regulation in obesity]

Obesity is, with rare exceptions, a complex phenotype resulting from interactions between environmental and genetic risk factor. Obesity is associated with diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, leading to arteriosclerosis. Dysregulation of food intake and energy expenditure, and thus energy homeostasis, is now recognized as playing a major role in development of obesity. A detailed understanding of the physiology and genetics of the regulatory systems is critical for the development of new approaches for treating obesity and its sequelae.