Obesity and Inflammation

Obesity and Inflammation

What Is Obesity?

Obesity is a chronic disease1 defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2. BMI is a system used to estimate body fat and compare weights independent of stature across a population. It is calculated by dividing body weight (kg) by the square of height (m2). Globally, obesity is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality.2 Obesity is known to be associated with dyslipidemia (ie, imbalance of blood lipid levels), coronary artery disease (ie, diseases of the heart’s blood vessels), diabetes, sleep apnea, liver disease, and certain types of cancers.3

 

What Is Inflammation? 

Inflammation, as we typically define it, is the body’s immune response to harmful stimuli such as toxins, pathogens, radiation, and damaged cells.4–6 When the body recognizes a foreign substance, it releases inflammatory mediators to remove harmful stimuli through various actions such as recruiting white blood cells. An acute inflammation can also become a chronic inflammation when uncontrolled or when continually exposed to toxins. Chronic inflammation can become a large stressor and is known to be associated with chronic inflammatory diseases and chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

 

What Is the Relationship Between Obesity and Inflammation? 

Obesity affects a wide array of diseases and is known as a state of low-grade chronic inflammation.7 Recent decades of research clearly suggest that obesity is associated with chronic inflammation, along with a host of other metabolic and chronic conditions.6,8 Studies have demonstrated that adipose (ie, fat) tissues are not only fat-storing organs but are endocrine (ie, hormonal) in nature.7 These tissues are metabolically active and can also become inflamed, releasing various inflammatory markers.7,8 Elevated inflammatory markers have consistently been observed in adipose tissues in both obese humans and animals. It is thought that obesity induces apoptosis (ie, cell death) and inflammation within adipose tissue, which subsequently triggers further inflammation that can have negative consequences on the body’s metabolic functions. Although the exact relationship between inflammation and obesity is still being studied, it is thought that expanding adipocytes, or adipose cells, may release signals that trigger inflammation to clear or limit expansion of adipocytes.

 

Can Weight Loss Alleviate Inflammation? 

Studies show that weight loss in overweight and obese individuals can alleviate inflammation.9,10 Research studying the effects of various interventions including dietary as well as physical activity interventions report that weight loss is associated with decreased obesity-related inflammatory (“bad”) markers such as C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-a, and interleukin-6. On the other hand, interventions that led to successful weight loss has shown to be associated with increased anti-inflammatory (“good”) markers such as adiponectin.


References:
1. Purnell JQ. Definitions, Classification, and Epidemiology of Obesity. In: Feingold KR, Anawalt B, Blackman MR, et al., eds. Endotext. MDText.com, Inc.; 2000. Accessed February 16, 2023. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279167/
2. Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity in 195 Countries over 25 Years. N Engl J Med. 2017;377(1):13-27. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1614362
3. Mitchell N, Catenacci V, Wyatt HR, Hill JO. Obesity: Overview of an Epidemic. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2011;34(4):717-732. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2011.08.005
4. Chen L, Deng H, Cui H, et al. Inflammatory Responses and Inflammation-Associated Diseases in Organs. Oncotarget. 2017;9(6):7204-7218. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.23208
5. Stone WL, Basit H, Burns B. Pathology, Inflammation. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2023. Accessed August 29, 2023. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534820/
6. Hotamisligil GS. Inflammation and Metabolic Disorders. Nature. 2006;444(7121):860-867. doi:10.1038/nature05485
7. Hildebrandt X, Ibrahim M, Peltzer N. Cell Death and Inflammation During Obesity: “Know My Methods, Wat(son).” Cell Death Differ. 2023;30(2):279-292. doi:10.1038/s41418-022-01062-4
8. Wu H, Ballantyne CM. Metabolic Inflammation and Insulin Resistance in Obesity. Circ Res. 2020;126(11):1549-1564. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.119.315896
9. Forsythe LK, Wallace JMW, Livingstone MBE. Obesity and Inflammation: The Effects of Weight Loss. Nutr Res Rev. 2008;21(2):117-133. doi:10.1017/S0954422408138732
10. Bianchi VE. Weight Loss Is a Critical Factor to Reduce Inflammation. Clin Nutr. 2018;28:21-35. doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2018.08.007

  

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