Chapter Category: Cell Metabolism
From the book Adipose Tissue
Adipose Tissue Pathology in Human Obesity
Hans Hauner, Thomas Skurk
Human obesity is characterized by an excess of adipose tissue mass that has potential adverse health consequences and may finally result in a reduced quality of life and life expectancy.1 In normal-weight subjects the adipose tissue organ constitutes between 10 and 20% of total body mass in males and between 15 and 25% in females. Although many techniques are available to determine body fat mass all of them have specific limitations. Therefore, for clinical practice and epidemiological studies simple anthropometric measures are widely used such as the body mass index (BMI = body mass (in kg) divided by body height (in m) squared; i.e., kg/m2) which was found to be a good surrogate marker of body fat mass.
\r\nAccording to WHO recommendations obesity is defined as a BMI 30 kg/m2 independent of gender. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2 indicates a preobese state and can already induce characteristic health problems. In the industrialized world between 10 and 25% of the adult population have a BMI 30 kg/m2 and, in addition, up to 40% are preobese or overweight according to this criteria. Thus, obesity represents an epidemic that affects most populations and its prevalence is increasing worldwide.2 \r\n
Among the many complications that are associated with obesity, disturbances of the metabolic and cardiovascular system are of particular relevance. Excess body fat promotes the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia, favors other cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and impaired fibrinolysis and may therefore result in an increased incidence of cardiovascular complications.1 To date, the precise causal relationship between obesity and these disturbances is only poorly understood, but there is growing evidence that alterations in fat cell function may directly or indirectly contribute to the development of these unfavorable health hazards. \r\n
- ISBN: 1-58706-040-X
- Publication date: September 1, 2001
- Series: Intelligence Unit
Adipose Tissue
Edited by: Hans Hauner, Thomas Skurk
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From a human point of view fat or adipose tissue is nowadays often considered assuperfluous and undesired, especially considering the current \"emaciated\" beauty ideal of the Western world. This could ultimately lead to the provocative question: \"Do we really need adipose tissue for normal...
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Adipose tissue is a highly specialized organ dealing mainly with processes for storage and release of energy. The underlying metabolic routes of these processes are regulated by a complex network to meet the energy requirements of the body. In times of a positive energy balance, i.e., energy...
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