Onboarding obesity management in cardiovascular care: A cardiologist's guide to latest advances

In recent decades, the prevalence of obesity has escalated markedly, becoming a serious epidemic and public health crisis requiring urgent and sustained attention. Obesity is associated with a large number of health conditions, including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which contribute to an increase in mortality and overall global health challenge. Despite its high morbidity and mortality, most healthcare practitioners perceive obesity as an outcome of unhealthy lifestyle rather than a disease by itself. As such, obesity is either overlooked or considered a minor risk factor for CVD in clinical practice, among others. Since cardiovascular (CV) causes remain the leading cause of death in patients with obesity, cardiologists are among the most frequently visited healthcare professionals and can play an essential role in addressing this disease. Obesity is a complex, chronic, relapsing yet treatable disease that stems from the disruption in the body's homeostatic, hedonic, and cognitive systems, as a result of an interplay between genetic, metabolic, inflammatory, vascular, environmental and behavioral, and pharmacological factors. With early recognition and assessment, management of this disease can successfully improve life expectancy and reduce CV risk. In this review, a concise overview of obesity was provided, focusing on its pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. The correlation between obesity and CVDs was further discussed, highlighting the significance of obesity education and management among cardiologists to improve patient outcomes and prevent the progression of obesity and its related comorbidities.