Obesity and Body Composition in Man and Woman: Associated Diseases and the New Role of Gut Microbiota

Background: Obesity is now recognized as a worldwide health issue and has reached epidemic proportions, affecting both developed and developing countries. The World Obesity Federation stated that “Obesity is a chronic relapsing disease process”: as a result, obesity has been recognized internationally as a chronic disease. The primary cause of the metabolic syndrome and increase of the cardiovascular risk have been identified in "sick fat", a condition then defined as adiposopathy. Heart attacks, strokes and renal failures are pathologies that have mid-risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension and diabetes, which in turn are caused by obesity, whose primary risk factor is represented by the diet. The aim of the present review is to consider the importance of body composition, together with chronic inflammation and a new gut microbiota data that may turn out to be crucial elements of some target treatment of human obesity. Methods: In this review, we performed research using PubMed database reviewing the evidence in the literature of evidence information regarding the link between obesity and body composition in the development of metabolic disease via inflammation markers and in particular, the new role exerted by gut microbiota. Results: Several papers were evaluated searching for differences in fat mass and disease risk. We also identified the same papers dealing with differences in body composition and metabolic syndrome. Our attention focuses also on a new frontier of gut microbiota composition in the body weight decrease and anti-inflammatory effects. Conclusion: To the saving of lean mass, for the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases, also considering the relationship with obesity, it is necessary to reduce the inflammatory state, acting on the gut-microbiota and on the intestinal permeability. To improve the health of the intestinal flora, we propose a 4P medicine and treatment with probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and polyphenols.