Inflammatory components of adipose tissue as target for treatment of metabolic syndrome

Abstract

Obesity is an independent risk factor in the etiology of various metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In this chapter, we discuss obesity-induced inflammation as a potential link with obesity-related metabolic syndrome, and discuss how obesity-related inflammatory components such as immune cells, and cytokines/chemokines and adipocy-tokines, provoke obesity-related pathologies. In particular, we focus on the hypothesis that anti-inflammatory food factors/phytochemicals may be useful for inhibiting the initiation and development of obesity-induced inflammation and metabolic syndrome.