Practice Consideration
Relationship between Adipose Tissue and Metabolic Disease
There is an established causal relationship between body fat and the risk of metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia. Practitioners wishing to gain insight into the significance of energy-intake reduction as a treatment for these types of disease will benefit from developing an understanding of the metabolic processes underlying the pathology that manifests as metabolic disease.
Not all adipose tissue is alike: the risk of developing metabolic disease depends on whether the adipose tissue has pathogenic potential (called "adiposipathic"). Those who consume excess energy develop metabolic disease only when there is adiposopathy* present.(65)
For further reading on the topic of adiposopathy please refer to:
Bays HE, Chapman RH, Grandy S. The relationship of body mass index to diabetes mellitus, hypertension and dyslipidaemia: comparison of data from two national surveys. Int J Clin Pract 2007; 61: 737–747.
* The term used to describe pathogenic adipose tissue
Not all adipose tissue is alike: the risk of developing metabolic disease depends on whether the adipose tissue has pathogenic potential (called "adiposipathic"). Those who consume excess energy develop metabolic disease only when there is adiposopathy* present.(65)
For further reading on the topic of adiposopathy please refer to:
Bays HE, Chapman RH, Grandy S. The relationship of body mass index to diabetes mellitus, hypertension and dyslipidaemia: comparison of data from two national surveys. Int J Clin Pract 2007; 61: 737–747.
* The term used to describe pathogenic adipose tissue
Updated September 20, 2017