Anti-inflammatory components from functional foods for obesity

Obesity,Obesity defined as excessive fat accumulation that may impair health, has been described throughout human history, but it has now reached epidemic proportions with the WHOWorld Health Organization estimating that 39% of the world’s adults over 18 years of age were overweight or obese in 2016. ObesityObesity is a chronic low-grade inflammatory state leading to organ damage with an increased risk of common diseases including cardiovascular and metabolic disease, non-alcoholic fatty liverNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease, osteo-arthritis and some cancersCancer. This inflammatory state may be influenced by adipose tissueAdipose tissuehypoxiaHypoxia and changes in the gut microbiota. There has been an increasing focus on functional foodsFunctional foods and nutraceuticalsNutraceuticals as treatmentTreatment options for obesityObesity as drug treatmentsTreatment are limited in efficacy. This chapter summarises the importance of anthocyaninAnthocyanins-containing fruits and vegetables, coffeeCoffee and its components, tropical fruitTropical fruits and food wasteFood waste as sources of phytochemicals for obesityObesitytreatmentTreatment. We emphasise that preclinical studies can form the basis for clinical trialsClinical trials to determine the effectiveness of these treatmentsTreatment in humans.