Research

Hormonal

Elevated levels of pro-inflammatory adipokines (e.g., leptin, resistin, chemerin, FABP4) and reduced levels of anti-inflammatory adipokines (e.g., adiponectin) drive chronic low-grade inflammation in adipose tissue during obesity, contributing to insulin resistance and metabolic disorders.

Obesity involves complex hormonal signaling from fat tissue that promotes inflammation and insulin resistance. While this review focuses on mechanisms rather than direct lifestyle advice, it underscores that metabolic health is influenced by the biochemical environment of fat tissue, not just energy balance. Targeting these inflammatory pathways (e.g., through weight loss or specific medical interventions) may help mitigate metabolic risks.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Obesity is associated with elevated levels of pro-inflammatory adipokines (e.g., leptin, resistin, chemerin, progranulin, RBP4, WISP1, FABP4, PAI-1, Follistatin-like1, MCP-1, SPARC, SPARCL1, and SAA) and reduced levels of anti-inflammatory adipokines such as adiponectin, omentin, ZAG, SFRP5, CTRP3, vaspin, and IL-10.
Yakun Ren et al. · Frontiers in Endocrinology · 2022

Why this rating

This is a review paper summarizing multiple studies; the evidence is strong for the general mechanism but varies by specific adipokine and species (mouse vs human).

Source

Adipokines, Hepatokines and Myokines: Focus on Their Role and Molecular Mechanisms in Adipose Tissue Inflammation

Yakun Ren et al. · Frontiers in Endocrinology · 2022

DOI 10.3389/fendo.2022.873699

narrative_reviewCited 214×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →