Once again about the dangers of "beer belly"

It has long been known that type 2 diabetes is associated with obesity, especially with the accumulation of excess fat in the abdominal area. Scientists at the Joslin Center for the Study of Diabetes, working under the guidance of Dr. Ronald Kahn, have found that adipose tissue of a different localization not only reduces insulin resistance, but also improves the sensitivity of tissues to it.

The authors claim that subcutaneous fat, most often localized on the hips, is associated with a reduced insulin content in the blood and better indicators of insulin sensitivity.

Abdominal obesity – a "beer belly", or an apple–shaped figure - is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and premature death. At the same time, experts have noticed that excess subcutaneous fat, or a "pear-shaped" figure, reduces this risk.

The authors set out to get an answer to the question: what is the cause of the "harmfulness" of abdominal fat: its localization or the characteristics of its constituent cells?

In experiments on mice, they found that subcutaneous fat transplantation into the abdominal area reduces body weight, fat volume, glucose and insulin concentrations in the blood and improves tissue sensitivity to insulin. Transplantation of abdominal fat into both subcutaneous and abdominal areas did not have a similar effect. In addition, animals with a high content of subcutaneous fat in the body gained less weight as they aged, had lower levels of insulin in the blood, better insulin sensitivity and, in general, maintained a better state of health.

Based on the data obtained, the scientists concluded that subcutaneous fat differs significantly in its properties from visceral (abdominal) fat and, apparently, synthesizes compounds that improve glucose metabolism.

According to the results of earlier studies, the removal of subcutaneous fat by liposuction does not lead to an improvement in any of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, however, none of the experts considered the possible beneficial effect of subcutaneous fat. However, the authors of one of the studies demonstrated that obese individuals with excess abdominal and subcutaneous fat have a higher sensitivity to insulin than individuals with exclusively abdominal obesity.

In addition, the authors note that a side effect of thiazoladines (thiazoladines) – a class of drugs for the treatment of diabetes that improve insulin sensitivity – is an increase in the volume of subcutaneous fat.

Presumably, subcutaneous fat synthesizes the hormones adipokines, which have a beneficial effect on metabolism and neutralize the negative effects of abdominal fat.

Currently, the authors, using proteomics approaches, are trying to identify substances synthesized by various types of fat cells. They hope to establish which of these compounds are able to improve metabolism and use them to create drugs for the treatment of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and obesity.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily

07.05.2008