If you gain weight, the fat cells in the body get bigger. So in the extremely obese, those fat cells are greatly enlarged.
In a study from the Technical University of Munich, scientists found how enlarged fat cells can cause metabolic diseases. They also developed non-invasive examination methods to determine the size of human fat cells.
Obesity can be caused by many things: by a genetic predisposition, an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, a slow metabolism, mental health conditions or the use of certain medications.
People with obesity often not only encounter stigmatization by society; they are also likely to suffer from reduced quality of life and a greater risk of secondary diseases.
They face higher risks, for example, of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and various cancers.
In the study, the team showed that gene expression—to what extent which genetic information is being used—in adipose tissue is linked to fat cell size and that changes in gene expression in enlarged fat cells are likely to be responsible for the development of metabolic diseases.
Large fat cells have a strongly altered metabolism and promote among other things the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
The cells of very overweight people have an increased tendency to store energy and promote inflammation, which fosters the illnesses already mentioned.
The team also developed and refined a non-invasive magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) method.
This also enabled a robust analysis of the fatty acid composition in the adipose tissue and for the first time the concept of a virtual adipose tissue biopsy was established, without the need for a minor procedure to remove the tissue.
With these improved diagnostic methods, used to determine the morphology and composition of the fat tissue, metabolic diseases could in future be diagnosed better and earlier. And it could be done virtually, without any tissue removal.
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The study was conducted by Dr. Julius Honecker et al and published in the journal eBioMedicine.
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