Obesity, adipocytes and insulin resistance - friends for life?

Since the 1980s there has been an alarming increase in obesity all over the world. A sedentary life style and the uptake of energy-dense foods are drivers of this trend, exacerbated by changes in food systems and environments. In 2015 about 107 million children and 603 million adults were obese with an overall prevalence of 5% among children and 12% among adults 1 . A high body mass index (BMI >25) is the major risk factor for the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer and nevertheless poor life quality. 41% of BMI-related deaths were caused by cardiovascular diseases and accounted for 2.7 million deaths worldwide in 2015. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.