Abstract

Obesity has reached pandemic proportions globally and is now also affecting developing countries in the south Asian region. Though conventionally described as a non-communicable disease, in certain ways it can be transmitted from one individual to another. In this paper we describe the different ways in which obesity has been considered as a communicable disease. The role of gut microbiota in causing obesity, transfer of microbes causing changes in body composition, viral infections associated with human obesity and above all it being a socially contagious disease in view of rapid globalization, are few of the communicable attributes of obesity. This framework has also led to development of novel treatment strategies for managing this rapidly increasing pandemic.