[Progress in the study of obesity]

Obesity has been rising as a common social phenomenon. Recent research has convinced us that rather than a cosmetic problem, obesity should be considered as a real disease which is a complex disorder of appetite regulation and energy metabolism. Actually, obesity is caused by many factors such as heredity, environment and food contents, among which hereditary gene seems to work as a key element. Induced and followed by complicated factors, obesity is particularly associated with diabetes mellitus II, coronary heart disease, certain forms of cancer and so on. At present, the access to treat obesity is still in its early stage and the function of leptin identified in 1994 is also the focus of debate. This review provides a comprehensive insight into the epidemics, etiology, healthy problems, treatment strategies of obesity, and leptin as well, attempting to develop an outline of obesity research.