obesity tagged posts

Obesity: A Dangerous Immune Response

Vasculature in murine visceral adipose tissue (red: blood vessels, green: pDCs, blue: hematopoietic cells)

Researchers show which molecular processes promote secondary diseases in obesity. Obesity and overweight are among the biggest health challenges of the 21st century, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Almost 60 percent of Germans are considered overweight, while 25 percent are obese. Moreover, being overweight often triggers severe secondary diseases such as diabetes, arteriosclerosis, or heart attacks.

Immunological processes determine the course of this disease. As part of a new study, a group of LMU researchers led by Dr...

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Biologists reveal how Obesity Damages the Skeletal Muscle Metabolism

Roles of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in skeletal muscle metabolism. Credit: The University of Hong Kong

A decline in metabolism and endurance of skeletal muscle is commonly observed in obese patients, but the underlying mechanism is not well-understood. A research team led by Dr. Chi Bun Chan, Assistant Professor from School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), uncovers a new mechanism to explain how obesity jeopardizes the functions of skeletal muscle and provides a potential treatment against the disease. The research findings have recently been published in the journal Autophagy.

Obesity is a metabolic disorder with increasing prevalence in modern society...

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Study of 50,000 people finds Brown Fat may Protect against Many Diseases

Brown fat scan
In these PET scans, the person on the left has abundant brown fat around the neck and cervical spine. The person on the right has no detectable brown fat.
(Courtesy of Andreas G. Wibmer and Heiko Schöder)

Brown fat is that magical tissue that you would want more of. Unlike white fat, which stores calories, brown fat burns energy and scientists hope it may hold the key to new obesity treatments. But it has long been unclear whether people with ample brown fat truly enjoy better health. For one thing, it has been hard to even identify such individuals since brown fat is hidden deep inside the body.

Now, a new study in Nature Medicine offers strong evidence: among over 52,000 participants, those who had detectable brown fat were less likely than their peers to suffer cardiac and metabo...

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Drug researcher develops ‘Fat Burning’ Molecule

Schematic showing key energy production pathways. Metabolites colour-coded by fold change of WD + BAM15 compared with WD, scale of twofold positive (red) to twofold negative (blue).

Scientists have recently identified a small mitochondrial uncoupler, named BAM15, that decreases the body fat mass of mice without affecting food intake and muscle mass or increasing body temperature.

Obesity affects more than 40 percent of adults in the United States and 13 percent of the global population. With obesity comes a variety of other interconnected diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and fatty liver disease, which makes the disease one of the most difficult — and most crucial — to treat.

“Obesity is the biggest health problem in the United States...

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