Research
Hormonal
In visceral adipose tissue of obese individuals, the expression of the CB1 receptor and the degrading enzyme FAAH is downregulated, creating a negative-feedback loop that sustains high local endocannabinoid activity.
Your visceral fat tissue actively downregulates the enzymes that break down fat-storing signals (like FAAH) and receptors (CB1). This creates a self-reinforcing cycle where high fat levels lead to hormonal changes that promote further fat storage. Breaking this cycle requires addressing the visceral fat itself.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
In visceral adipose tissue, CB1 mRNA expression was negatively correlated with visceral fat mass... whereas FAAH gene expression was negatively correlated with visceral fat mass... Our findings suggest that abdominal fat accumulation is a critical correlate of the dysregulation of the peripheral endocannabinoid system.
Why this rating
Direct measurement of gene expression in paired tissue samples from human subjects.
Source
Dysregulation of the Peripheral and Adipose Tissue Endocannabinoid System in Human Abdominal Obesity
Matthias Blüher et al. · Diabetes · 2006
DOI 10.2337/db06-0812
cross_sectional · n=60Cited 527×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Elevated circulating 2-AG levels in visceral obesity are negatively correlated with insulin sensitivity, as measured by glucose infusion rate during euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp, independent of total body fat mass.Good
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