I read something pretty amazing on the Economist's science section recently. A new theory by two scientists in the University of Texas challenge the entire interpretation of obesity and its linkage with heart disease, diabetes and liver failure.
The normal notion is - you get fat and since you are fat, you get a host of other problems. Not so!
The real troublemaker is still the excess fat that we consume. When we do intake extra fat, the body starts to accumulate it as blubber (using fat here makes the description confusing, so I use blubber). This kicks into action two hormones - Leptin and Adinopectin. The latter diverts excess fat inside the body to be stored as blubber. The production of this hormone decreases as the amount of blubber stored increases. The other hormone, Leptin, is however at the heart of the obesity saga. Its job is to consume the fats. Its production 'increases' with an increase in blubber storage.
So how does all hell break loose? Well, when Leptin production is hampered by some reason, the trouble begins. First, cells start seeing a lot of fat in the bloodstream and react by becoming resistant to Insulin. This happens because insulin makes cells absorb glucose from the bloodstream and make even more fat! Why make more fat when there is so much around anyway, say the cells. Secondly, all of this fat goes ahead and damages pancreatic and heart cells causing another further trouble. The key to this theory is that Leptin production/no-production causes all the complications.
If this theory survives the test of time, it will mean a radical shift in treatment strategies. Liposuction will be a strict no-no since it will decrease Leptin production even more. Insulin injection for diabetes supposedly 'caused' by obesity will also be a bad idea since we really don't want cells to make more fat. What will remain a time-tested strategy is a healthy life-style with little fat and a lot of exercise.
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