Adiposopathy and epigenetics: an introduction to obesity as a transgenerational disease

BACKGROUND: To examine the contribution of generational epigenetic dysregulation to the inception of obesity and its adiposopathic consequences. METHODS: Sources for this review included searches of PubMed, Google Scholar, and international government/major association websites using terms including adiposity, adiposopathy, epigenetics, genetics, and obesity. RESULTS: Excessive energy storage in adipose tissue often results in fat cell and fat organ dysfunction, which may cause metabolic and fat mass disorders. The adverse clinical manifestations of obesity are not solely due to the amount of body fat (adiposity), but are also dependent on anatomical and functional perturbations (adiposopathy or 'sick fat'). This review describes extragenetic factors and genetic conditions that promote obesity. It also serves as an introduction to epigenetic dysregulation (i.e., abnormalities in gene expression that occur without alteration in the genetic code itself), which may contribute to obesity and adiposopathic metabolic health outcomes in offspring. Within the epigenetic paradigm, obesity is a transgenerational disease, with weight lost or gained by either parent potentially impacting generational risk for obesity and its complications. CONCLUSIONS: Epigenetics may be an important contributor to the emergence of obesity and its complications as global epidemics. Although transgenerational epigenetic influences present challenges, they may also present interventional opportunities, via justifying weight management for individuals before, during, and after pregnancy and for future generations.