Obesity :: How fat tissue works

Jaswinder K. Sethi and Antonio J. Vidal-Puig review current knowledge on how fat tissue works in our bodies.

They describe the biochemicals released by fat tissue and how they help keep the internal environment of the body stable by either storing fat or burning it to produce energy.

The scientists also review the latest research showing how too much fat tissue can lead to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and some cancers. They explain that, in overweight or obese people, nutrients leak from fat tissue and accumulate in other organs, fat tissue releases abnormal quantities of biochemicals, and the distribution of fat tissue among various organs is altered.

The scientists also give ideas for therapeutic strategies that could help overweight and obese individuals lose their excessive amount of fat tissue. They suggest treatments that would affect the distribution of fat tissue throughout the body and that would alter the way the biochemicals produced by the fat tissue interact with other organs.

Article: “Adipose Tissue Function and Plasticity Orchestrate Nutritional Adaptation,” by Jaswinder K. Sethi and Antonio J. Vidal-Puig