Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. But not all obesity is created equal—and that’s why it’s so hard to both treat and prevent.

Along with its precursor—being overweight—obesity is not one disease. Instead, much like cancer, there are many varieties each requiring a unique treatment method.

“You can look at two people with the same amount of excess body weight and they put on the weight for very different reasons,” said Dr. Arya Sharma, medical director of the obesity program at the University of Alberta.

One focus of current research is to determine exactly how many types of obesity there actually are. Lee Kaplan, MD, PhD, director of the obesity, metabolism and nutrition institute at Massachusetts General Hospital, counts 59 so far. He’s also interested in exploring how genes contribute to the diseases’ progression.

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