Nondiabetic consequences of obesity on kidney

There has been a major increase in obesity among children over the past twenty years. Obesity is associated with glomerular hyperperfusion and hyperfiltration from physiological (mal)adaptation resulting from afferent arteriolar vasodilatation. The renal injury from hyperfiltration in obesity is further exacerbated by concomitant presence of dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia and/or insulin resistance, inflammation and hypertension. The renal injury clinically manifests as microalbuminuria, proteinuria and/or poor renal function, and is histologically characterized by glomerulomegaly, mesangial expansion and/or sclerosis, which has been termed obesity related glomerulopathy. Obesity portends a poor prognosis in subjects with chronic kidney diseases, IgA nephropathy and nephrectomy. Obese individuals on dialysis and renal transplant have mixed outcomes. The purpose of this review is to highlight the nondiabetic consequences of obesity on kidney for the pediatric nephrology community as we begin to address the obesity epidemic in children.