Research
Hormonal
Adipose tissue plasticity and the production of specific adipokines (e.g., TNF-alpha, resistin) contribute to insulin resistance by impairing adipose tissue function and limiting further expansion.
Managing obesity may require addressing the hormonal signals from fat tissue, not just the fat itself. Some medications aim to improve adipose tissue function and reduce harmful adipokine production.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The second hypothesis suggests that excessive nutritional overload on the adipose tissue triggers qualitative and/or quantitative changes in adipokine production. These then act as modulators of insulin sensitivity and lead to both local and systemic insulin resistance.
Why this rating
Based on a thematic review of multiple studies.
Source
Thematic review series: Adipocyte Biology. Adipose tissue function and plasticity orchestrate nutritional adaptation
Jaswinder K. Sethi et al. · Journal of Lipid Research · 2007
DOI 10.1194/jlr.r700005-jlr200
narrative_reviewCited 559×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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