Obesity is not simply caused by an excess of fat, but by the inability of the body to function properly, according to a study published in the Cell Journal. While loading up on junk food may cause excessive weight, obesity has deeper origins. 

Researchers who conducted the study have argued that excessive fat buildup can be attributed to the body’s inability to accurately respond to changes. With decrease in plasticity, the body fails to respond proactively to bodily cues. Plasticity is the process by which the human body adapts to changes.  

Poor functioning of a tissue or its genetic makeup can contribute to weight fluctuations and signs of ageing. 

Rapid growth of the adipose tissue outruns blood supply, causing deprivation of oxygen supply in fat cells. This results in the accumulation of cells that have lost the ability to multiply. 

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This can result in cell death, inflammation and insulin resistance. Lipids can also have the tendency to spill from these cells. 

 “The central role of adipose tissue dysfunction in disease and the incredible plasticity of fat tissue supports the promise of modulating fat tissue phenotypes for therapeutic purposes”, wrote the authors of the study.

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“Many questions and opportunities for future discovery remain, which will yield new insights into adipose tissue biology and hopefully lead to improved therapies for human disease,” they added.

The research was led by Patrick Seale from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Claudio J. Villanueva from the College of Life Sciences/David Geffen School of Medicine.

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Another study published in the PLOS Medicine Journal analysed the correlation between obesity and female reproductive disorders. Although the researchers found an association, the study has several limitations, including lack of body mass index analysis of the participants, and low prevalence of female reproductive disorders among the participants.