Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2022 Feb 12. doi: 10.1007/s11894-022-00840-x.Online ahead of print.

Nidah Shabbir Khakoo ¹, Stephanie Ioannou ¹, Nabiha Shabbir Khakoo ², Shyam Vedantam ¹, Michelle Pearlman ³

Author information

• ¹Department of Internal Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
• ²University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
• ³Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL, 33136, USA. m.pearlman@med.miami.edu.

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review highlights recent work that evaluates the impact of obesity on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis and management.

Recent findings: The impact of obesity on IBD prevalence, clinical course, and management, has been studied and described more so in recent years. Studies have shown that obesity increases IBD disease activity, leads to longer hospitalization courses, and increases the likelihood of the development of extraintestinal manifestations. Recent evidence has also suggested that obese IBD patients have a higher frequency of extended steroid treatment and increased use of antibiotics compared to non-obese IBD patients. The effect of obesity on patients with IBD is a topic that has garnered widespread interest in the last decade due to the increasing prevalence of both diseases. To date however, although there are still many unanswered questions. It is quite clear that obesity, and more specifically, visceral adiposity, affects numerous IBD-related outcomes in regard to pathogenesis, extra-intestinal manifestations, response to medical and surgical therapies, hospital length of stay, healthcare-related costs, and health-related quality of life. Future studies should include larger patient populations and evaluate additional factors that are altered in those with obesity including the gut microbiome, dietary patterns, and whether weight loss and/or degree of weight loss impact clinical outcomes.