Fat Cells in Obese People Are 'Sick' (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Fat cells in obese peopleare "sick" compared to those in lean people, a new study shows.

Published in the September issue of Diabetes, a group ofresearchers from the Temple University School of Medicine analyzed fatsamples from the upper thighs of six lean and six obese people.

They found significant differences in the fat cells of the obeseparticipants compared with the lean participants.

"The fat cells we found in our obese patients were deficient in severalareas," study author Guenther Boden, the Laura H. Carnell Professor ofMedicine and chief of endocrinology, said in Temple press release.

Boden said that the obese people's fat cells showed stress on theendoplasmic reticulum (ER), which helps cells synthesize proteins andmonitor how they are folded. When the ER is stressed, Boden explained, itproduces several proteins that ultimately lead to insulin resistance.Insulin resistance, in turn, plays a major role in the development ofobesity-related conditions.

The differences in the fat cells between obese and lean people may helpexplain the link between obesity and a higher risk of diabetes, heartdisease, and stroke, Boden theorized.

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