Research
Hormonal
Obesity induces chronic low-grade inflammation in adipose tissue, which impairs insulin signaling and leads to insulin resistance.
Excess body fat, especially around the midsection (visceral fat), is not just inert storage; it actively releases inflammatory chemicals that block your body's ability to use insulin. This biological change is a primary driver of metabolic disease, meaning that managing inflammation and fat distribution is as critical as calorie counting for metabolic health.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The discovery that low-grade, chronic inflammation in adipose tissue activated proinflammatory pathways critical for the development of insulin resistance has had a major impact on our understanding of the pathophysiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Why this rating
Based on a comprehensive review of multiple genetic and pharmacological studies in mice and human epidemiological data.
Source
Energy Balance and Obesity
James O. Hill et al. · Circulation · 2012
DOI 10.1161/circulationaha.111.087213
book_chapterCited 1,287×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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