ABSTRACT
Obesity is a heterogeneous disorder with wide variations in risks for complicating diseases. The recognition of the marked differences between excess fat localized in different parts of the body has markedly increased the knowledge of mechanisms by which metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors and diseases aggregate to specific phenotypes of obesity. At the same time, emerging scientific interest has increased our understanding of the main metabolic and hormonal factors involved in the pathophysiology of different obesity phenotypes.
