Effect Of Cafeteria Diet Induced Obesity On Ovarian Structure And Function

Childhood obesity is one of the serious public health challenges of the 21st century.

The fundamental cause of obesity is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and

calories expended. Palatability plays a key role in inducing hedonic hunger contributing to

overeating which increases energy intake and thereby contributes to the disruption of energy

balance (Lowe and Butryn, 2007). The prevalence of obesity has increased at an alarming rate

due to drastic changes in eating habits in the aftermath of modernization in the food industry such

as producing more processed, affordable, and effectively marketed food than ever before,

which provided easy access to palatable and high-calorie food (Swinburn et al., 2011).

Consumption of energy-dense palatable food in excess at a very early age results in

the development of early-onset obesity. Excessive weight gain in childhood likely paves the way to

lifelong obesity (Singh et al., 2008) thereby increasing the exposure to obesity over a longer

duration. The increased prevalence of childhood obesity leads to a coequal rise in the

prevalence of sustained obesity.