Risk factor obesity: treatment standard

Obesity is a global epidemic and is increasingly recognized as a direct and independent risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), beyond its established associations with diabetes and hypertension. Excess adiposity promotes kidney injury through convergent hemodynamic, metabolic, and inflammatory pathways, including glomerular hyperfiltration, podocyte stress, lipotoxicity, insulin resistance, activation of the renin-angiotensin system, and chronic low-grade inflammation. Given the rise in the prevalence of obesity and kidney disease driven by obesity as a primary risk factor, there is a critical need to understand emerging treatment options, including novel incretin-based therapies, to prevent disease progression and decrease cardiovascular burden, which is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients. We aim to review current treatment standards and discuss novel developments in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, outcome prediction, and management of obesity as a risk factor for kidney injury and CKD.