Obesity is a major global epidemic involving children and adults. According to the
World Health Organization, obesity incidence will continue to rise with global estimations reaching
700 million by 2015. Thus, it is essential to investigate the nature of the obesity epidemic and
potential mitigating mechanisms. In this chapter, we explore the association between obesity and
inflammation and the efficacy of biochemical mimetics such a ghrelin and leptin for exercise and
diet in the control of obesity-induced inflammation. We also review non-pharmaceutical obesity
interventions and non-invasive means for predicting metabolic syndrome development as well as
methods of obesity assessment.
Keywords: Ghrelin, leptin, exercise, diet, vitamin D, body fat.
