Overweight and obesity in active celiac disease: possible pathophysiological mechanisms

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic enteropathy of the small intestinal, mediated by an immune response triggered by exposure to dietary gluten in genetically predisposed individuals. The clinical presentation of CD is varied and leads to malabsorption. Nutritional status at the time of diagnosis of CD depends on the time in which the disease has been active, the extent of intestinal inflammation, degree of malabsorption, and dietary intake. However, in recent years an epidemiological change of nutritional status has been observed in celiac patients at the time of diagnosis. The objective of this review was to perform a descriptive analysis of the presence of obesity in celiac patients and the possible physiopathological mechanisms that would explain it.