Research

Hormonal

Obesity-induced chronic low-grade inflammation in adipose tissue acts as a causal mechanism for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

In obesity, fat tissue doesn't just store energy; it actively releases inflammatory signals that block insulin from working. This inflammation is a key driver of type 2 diabetes risk. While weight loss helps, the inflammatory state itself is a direct cause of metabolic dysfunction, suggesting that managing inflammation is crucial for metabolic health.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation in a variety of tissues... which, importantly, may serve as a causal link between obesity and insulin resistance and T2DM.
Huaizhu Wu et al. · Circulation Research · 2020

Why this rating

The paper is a comprehensive review citing numerous animal and human studies, though it notes mechanisms are 'incompletely understood'.

Source

Metabolic Inflammation and Insulin Resistance in Obesity

Huaizhu Wu et al. · Circulation Research · 2020

DOI 10.1161/circresaha.119.315896

narrative_reviewCited 967×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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