Research
Hormonal
Hypertrophic white adipocytes in obesity trigger chronic low-grade inflammation via macrophage infiltration, contributing to insulin resistance.
In obesity, fat cells can become so large that they trigger an inflammatory response, attracting immune cells that worsen insulin resistance. Reducing fat cell size through weight loss can help resolve this inflammation and improve metabolic health.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
In 2003, two independent laboratories showed that the adipose tissue of obese animals and humans is infiltrated by macrophages, inducing a chronic low-grade inflammation. They also showed that macrophage infiltration is positively correlated to the size of adipocytes and is coincident with the appearance of insulin resistance.
Why this rating
Well-established in human and animal pathology; consistent findings across multiple studies cited.
Source
The adipose organ: white‐brown adipocyte plasticity and metabolic inflammation
Arianna Smorlesi et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2012
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-789x.2012.01039.x
narrative_reviewCited 180×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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