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Obesity: global epidemiology and pathogenesis
Blüher M.. Nature reviews. Endocrinology, 2019-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide in the past ~50 years, reaching pandemic levels. Obesity represents a major health challenge because it substantially increases the risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, fatty liver disease, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, dementia, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnoea and several cancers, thereby contributing to a decline in both quality of life and life expectancy. Obesity is also associated with unemployment, social disadvantages and reduced socio-economic productivity, thus increasingly creating an economic burden. Thus far, obesity prevention and treatment strategies - both at the individual and population level - have not been successful in the long term. Lifestyle and behavioural interventions aimed at reducing calorie intake and increasing energy expenditure have limited effectiveness because complex and persistent hormonal, metabolic and neurochemical adaptations defend against weight loss and promote weight regain. Reducing the obesity burden requires approaches that combine individual interventions with changes in the environment and society. Therefore, a better understanding of the remarkable regional differences in obesity prevalence and trends might help to identify societal causes of obesity and provide guidance on which are the most promising intervention strategies.
Key findings
- Obesity is also associated with unemployment, social disadvantages and reduced socio-economic productivity, thus increasingly creating an economic burden.
Why it matters
Obesity is described as a major health challenge that raises the risk of many diseases, including dementia. Long-term prevention and treatment strategies have not been successful, and the review calls for combining individual approaches with environmental and societal changes.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Nature reviews. Endocrinology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Nature Reviews Endocrinology: journal h-index 265 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 5,093 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 565.9 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 105.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 2,258 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Matthias Blüher: h-index 123 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Leipzig University: institution h-index 763 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30814686) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription Unpaywall, Europe PMC and OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 10 Oct 2026), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Blüher, M. (2019). Obesity: global epidemiology and pathogenesis. Nature reviews. Endocrinology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0176-8
Vancouver
Blüher M. Obesity: global epidemiology and pathogenesis. Nature reviews. Endocrinology. 2019. doi:10.1038/s41574-019-0176-8. PMID: 30814686.
BibTeX
@article{bluher2019-30814686,
author = {Blüher, M.},
title = {{Obesity: global epidemiology and pathogenesis}},
journal = {Nature reviews. Endocrinology},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1038/s41574-019-0176-8},
pmid = {30814686},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0176-8}
}
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