Research
Energy balance
Increased mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle during obesity may contribute to insulin resistance through the accumulation of incomplete oxidation intermediates (acylcarnitines) and oxidative stress.
For obese individuals, simply increasing fat oxidation in muscles (e.g., via high-fat diets) can worsen insulin resistance if the mitochondria cannot process the fat completely. Exercise remains beneficial as it likely coordinates FAO with TCA cycle capacity, whereas uncoordinated high fat oxidation can be harmful.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
This suggests that FAO might already be enhanced during obesity, contributing to the development of insulin resistance (121). The main problems associated with an increase in FAO are: (i) the high rates of incomplete fat oxidation and (ii) the increase in oxidative stress associated with a mitochondrial overload (Fig. 6C) (89).
Why this rating
Based on rodent models and mechanistic studies in human muscle tissue.
Source
Mitochondrial Fatty Acid Oxidation in Obesity
Dolors Serra et al. · Antioxidants and Redox Signaling · 2012
DOI 10.1089/ars.2012.4875
narrative_reviewCited 242×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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