[White adipose tissue dysfunction observed in obesity]

Abstract

Obesity is a disease with continuingly increasing prevalence. It occurs worldwide independently of age group, material status or country of origin. At these times the most common reasons for obesity are bad eating habits and dramatic reduction of physical activity, which cause the energy imbalance of organism. Fundamental alteration observed in obese subjects is white adipose tissue overgrowth, which is linked to increased incidence of obesity-related comorbidities, such as: cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes or digestive tract diseases. What is more, obesity is also a risk factor for some cancers. Special risk for diseases linked to excessive weight is associated with overgrowth of visceral type of adipose tissue. Adipose tissue, which is the main energy storehouse in body and acts also as an endocrine organ, undergoes both the morphological and the functional changes in obesity, having a negative impact on whole body function. In this article we summarize the most important alterations in morphology and function of white adipose tissue, observed in obese subjects.

Keywords: adipocytes; adipose tissue; dysfunction; obesity.