Anatomical and pathophysiological changes of the musculoskeletal system due to obesity

Abstract

Obesity is a growing global epidemic affecting all ages. Obesity has wide ranging negative effects all over the body. This literature review aims to show the effects of obesity on the musculoskeletal system in children and adults. A literature review was carried out by finding studies on the database PubMed to base the review upon. Some inclusion and exclusion criteria were set, based on which the articles were chosen. The types of studies that were included were cross-sectional studies, literature reviews, case control studies and random control study. There are both anatomical and pathophysiological changes in obesity in all the organs and organ systems reviewed. It was concluded that obesity has local changes such as bone deformity and systemic changes since the musculoskeletal system has an endocrine function and obesity interferes with the secretion of the biomolecules from the organs. It was noted that obesity has long lasting negative effects on the musculoskeletal system, so it would be better to focus more on the prevention of obesity with regular exercise and a healthy diet.