Obesity, based on the most recent studies, is not a problem of extra fat but of loss of function

Obesity's bad health impacts, according to a group of researchers, originate not just from an excess of fat but also from a reduction in the body's ability to adjust to changes, or plasticity.

The research was published in the journal 'Cell'.

In response to weight fluctuations and ageing, the makeup and functioning of this tissue changes. Fat loses its ability to respond to body cues as its plasticity fades with age and obesity. According to the present hypothesis, adipose tissue's rapid expansion outpaces its blood supply, depriving fat cells of oxygen and resulting in an accumulation of cells that no longer divide.

This causes insulin resistance, inflammation, and cell death, as well as an uncontrolled lipid spill from these cells.

The researchers, led by Claudio J. Villanueva from the College of Life Sciences/David Geffen School of Medicine and Patrick Seale from the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, wrote, "The central role of adipose tissue dysfunction in disease and the incredible plasticity of fat tissue supports the promise of modulating fat tissue phenotypes for therapeutic purposes."

"Many conflicts and prospects for future discovery remain," they added, "leading to new insights into adipose tissue metabolism and, perhaps, improved therapeutics for human disease."