Obesity has been seen as a symbol of prosperity and power from the ancient periods of human history to the recent past, but today it negatively affects the life span and quality of the person; It is defined as a physiological, organic, systemic, metabolic and hormonal disease. Obesity has become an increasingly important public health problem in the world and in Turkey.Dermatology Specialist Dr. Oğuz Küçükçakır gave information about the subject.
The negative effects of obesity on the skin and its appendages have attracted increasing attention in studies conducted in recent years. Obesity negatively affects many physiological functions of the skin; It causes water loss in the upper layer of the skin, skin redness and pH change, infections, delay in wound healing, small vascular structure disorders called microangiopathy and hypertension, body temperature irregularity and deterioration in quality of life. Studies have shown that the skin is drier in obese people, skin barrier functions are impaired, and there is increased activity in sweat glands and sebaceous glands. It has also been shown that collagen production decreases in obese people, wound healing is negatively affected, lymphatic flow slows down and there is a tendency to develop lymphedema. In addition, recognizing and controlling dermatological diseases that frequently occur in obese individuals due to increased insulin resistance and hyperandrogenism plays an important role in reducing obesity-related morbidity and mortality. We can list these diseases as hirsutismus, androgenic alopecia, acne and acanthosis nigricans. Other skin diseases exacerbated by obesity can be listed as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, chronic venous insufficiency, lymphedema, skin infections, gout and malignancies. It has been found that obese individuals with psoriasis have lower responses to systemic treatment and more frequent treatment-related side effects. It has also been shown that atopic dermatitis attacks are more severe in obese individuals and require more treatment. It has been shown that increased androgen and insulin levels in obese patients negatively affect the sebaceous glands and acne severity. It has been shown in many studies that venous insufficiency is seen in obese men and women and the cause is unknown. It has been shown that increased intra-abdominal pressure is due to pressure in the opposite direction to the flow of blood from the legs. Increased intra-abdominal pressure also contributes to lymphedema by causing lymphatic flow to slow down. Obesity increases the frequency of skin infections such as candidiasis, intertrigo, furunculosis, erythrasma, tinea cruris and folliculitis. Studies have also shown that there is a connection between obesity and tumor development mechanisms and that obesity is a clinically independent risk factor in the development of melanoma. As a result, an effective and disciplinary treatment and follow-up approach in the prevention and treatment of obesity is parallel to the treatment of skin diseases exacerbated by obesity.
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