Research
Hormonal
Adipocyte hypertrophy and subsequent endoplasmic reticulum stress trigger a pro-inflammatory response (metaflammation) that initially preserves metabolic control by promoting lipolysis and tissue remodeling.
As fat cells grow larger, they become stressed and send out signals to break down fat and remodel tissue. This is a natural attempt to manage excess energy. If this system works, you may remain metabolically healthy despite being overweight.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Eventual lipid overload of hypertrophic adipocytes leads to endoplasmic reticulum stress and the secretion of a variety of signals causing increased sympathetic tone, lipolysis by adipocytes, lipid uptake by macrophages, matrix remodeling, angiogenesis, and immune cell activation.
Why this rating
Supported by extensive molecular and cellular studies cited in the review.
Source
Obese visceral fat tissue inflammation: from protective to detrimental?
Hubert Kolb · BMC Medicine · 2022
DOI 10.1186/s12916-022-02672-y
narrative_reviewCited 330×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Obese visceral fat inflammation is an initially protective adaptive response to restore metabolic homeostasis, but becomes detrimental when structural damage and senescence trigger chronic immune infiltration.Good
- Chronic structural damage in visceral fat, characterized by adipocyte death and senescence, shifts inflammation from protective to detrimental by recruiting circulating immune cells and causing fibrosis.Good
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