Molecular Basis of Diabetes and Obesity Interactions: A Mini-Review

Abstract

Diabetes and obesity are the most common comorbidities. Like obesity, type 2 diabetes is a major public health challenge. Indeed, diabetes poses a “global health threat”. The urgency of this situation is evident when one considers the high prevalence of obesity alongside these increasing numbers of diabetes cases, as it has been established that obesity is the basis of insulin resistance. Obesity involves genetic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors, and 45-75% of the susceptibility to obesity is heritable. Since diabetes arises from complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors (including diet, physical activity, and drugs), it is unsurprising that susceptibility to diabetes is also quite high. The homeostatic regulation of blood glucose in vertebrates reveals an intricate metabolism of glucose and involves numerous genes. The lack of physical activity and regular diet, alongside other factors, results in an imbalance of this complex metabolism, leading to obesity-induced diabetes. This raises the question of the genetic components involved in the commonly shared development of diabetes in obese individuals. A number of genetic studies have reported shared susceptibility loci between diabetes and obesity in humans. For example, a genome-wide association study revealed connections between type 2 diabetes and obesity-related metabolic diseases (or traits). This literature review aims to discuss the metabolic aspects of diabetes-obesity interactions from recent studies.