Dietary phytochemicals and their potential effects on obesity: A review

The incidence of obesity is rising at an alarming rate and is becoming a major public health concern with incalculable social costs. Indeed, obesity facilitates the development of metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases in addition to chronic diseases such as stroke, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, some cancers, and inflammation-bases pathologies. In this review we summarize the progresses made in our understanding of obesity, including the role of inflammation process, the recently understood endocrine function of adipose tissue, as well as passive roles of processes of energy storage and adipogenesis related to fat cell lifecycle: differentiation, maturation, and apoptosis. In addition, the article discusses the anti-obesity potential of dietary phytochemicals and analyzes their mechanisms of action, e.g. induction of apoptosis and lipolysis and inhibition of inflammation.