Abstract

Obesity is a complex epidemic which continues to be prevalent around the world. With escalating concerns due to the life-threatening complications such as type 2 diabetes, liver disease, cardiovascular morbidities and certain cancers. The research on the pathogenesis and its treatments or prevention methods has been carried on for decades. To represent the human conditions of obesity, mostly rodents have been used as a model. Though the use of rodents helped obtain a considerable amount of information, utilizing them as models requires a relatively higher cost, staff, and equipments. Certain limitations to the rodent models have also been found, and as result, zebrafish (Danio rerio) emerged as an alternative. Zebrafish are attractive models not only for their short intervals between generations and reproduction but also for the similarities pertaining to structure and hormones. In this review, we highlight research on zebrafish models utilized for investigating the complex and unclear pathogenesis of obesity.