[Cardiovascular sequelae and risks of obesity]

Obesity is a well documented separate risk factor for metabolic and vascular diseases which may reduce life expectancy for overweight people. This is expected to create soon a major health economic problem in more or less all western countries because the numbers of morbidly obese people increase steadily. It is a type of visceral android fat deposition which bears a high risk to develop vascular remodelling processes causing coronary and cerebral artery disease with all its consequences. The various biochemical processes which may contribute to cause these vascular lesions in obesity are discussed by the author and the various resulting clinical findings are described. Further the chance is emphasized to reduce by weight reduction the risks of obesity since regression of vascular changes may result by an even moderate loss of weight.