Functional and structural renal changes in the early stages of obesity.

Obesity is an epidemic of colossal proportion, and the healthcare system has been singularly unable to abate this growing threat to society. Two-thirds of US adults are now overweight or obese. Also, the incidence of obesity is increasing in children and adolescents at an alarming rate. The mechanisms of kidney damage, can be both direct and consequential from hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Both hemodynamic and hormonal effects of obesity are discussed. Benefits of weight loss and pharmacological treatment are evaluated.