ABSTRACT
MELISSA M. ZANQUETTA, MARIA LÚCIA CORRÊA-GIANNELLA, MARIA BEATRIZ MONTEIRO, AND SANDRA M. F. VILLARES
3.1 INTRODUCTION
The prevalence of obesity is growing rapidly, affecting all ages and social classes, despite all scientific efforts to clarify its causes. Excess body weight has become one of the biggest health issues today, and is principally due to increased food availability, high caloric diets and sedentary lifestyles. Recent studies have shown the importance of new discoveries regarding the intracellular mechanisms which can trigger obesity and other metabolic disturbances.
