Inflammation, obesity and comorbidities: the role of diet

Abstract

The adipocyte metabolism has been shown to change during the fat enlargement process associated to obesity. Several procoagulant proteins such as plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1, tissue factor or factor VII and also inducible nitric oxide synthase show higher expression in adipose tissue of obese people in comparison to lean. This overexpression could explain at least a part of the atherogenic and cardiovascular risk associated with obesity.In addition to cytokine secretion, many other features have been observed to be common to adipocyte and monocyte/macrophage lines: for example, phagocytic and microbicidal activities, and possibly a cellular plasticity of adipose precursors.Overweight and obesity are associated with an increased risk of such metabolic abnormalities as dyslipidemia, hypertension or type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases, common features of the metabolic syndrome. Initially, insulin resistance or hyperinsulinemia was suggested as the origin of these abnormalities. More recent studies indicate that adipokynes have an important role in obesity-associated metabolic complications, and suggest that chronically elevated local or systemic concentrations of adipokynes contribute to the development of complications associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome.Considering all the evidence relating to diet and inflammation, the best diet for protecting against the metabolic derangements associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome would be high in fibre-rich cereals, fruit, vegetables, fish, virgin olive oil and nuts; moderate in wine; and low in meat, processed meat foods and trans-fatty acids.

Body fatness and endogenous sex hormones in the menopausal transition

“…Morbidity and mortality risk is associated with obese nutritional status due to the comorbidities of obesity (e.g., insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, sleep apnea, arthritis, certain types of cancer) [59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70]. In addition, abdominal obesity was found to increase the prediction of health risk in obese nutritional status [71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79].…”

Dietary Patterns, Smoking, and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Complex Association

“…Inflammation is the key underlying feature of atherosclerosis [59]. Such dietary factors as refined carbohydrates and animal fat are hypothesized to induce oxidative stress that stimulates secretion of proinflammatory cytokines [60,61]. Other foods and nutrients, including fruits, vegetables, fiber, and alcohol are anti-inflammatory and suppress oxidative stress, as do bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds in extra virgin oil and resveratrol in red grapes [60,61].…”

“…Such dietary factors as refined carbohydrates and animal fat are hypothesized to induce oxidative stress that stimulates secretion of proinflammatory cytokines [60,61]. Other foods and nutrients, including fruits, vegetables, fiber, and alcohol are anti-inflammatory and suppress oxidative stress, as do bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds in extra virgin oil and resveratrol in red grapes [60,61]. Smoking similarly causes oxidative stress [21].Additionally, smoking induces insulin resistance that partly underlies the development of obesity, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and dyslipidemias (hypertriglyceridemia, elevated LDL-cholesterol, and low HDL-cholesterol), which are established risk factors for CVD.…”

Virgin olive oil in preventive medicine: From legend to epigenetics

“…Until a few years ago, obesity was considered only a condition in which there is an excess accumulation of fat in adipocytes. Recently, however, some studies have shown that the white fat accounting for more than half of mature adipocytes and the remaining of pre-adipocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and macrophages, is a true endocrine organ that plays an important role in both inflammatory and metabolic mechanisms [80,81]. In fact, adipocytes produce at least 50 adipokines, several substances that release chemotactic proteins, complement proteins (adipsin), proteins involved in blood pressure control, angiogenesis, and molecules involved in the metabolism of glucose and lipids including adiponectin, resistin, visfatin, apelin, vaspin, hepcidin, chemeria, and omentin [81,82].…”

“…They also release cytokines with typical pro-inflammatory activities including leptin, the MCP-1, the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha), and the interleukin-6 (IL-6), thereby promoting a state of chronic inflammation, as shown by the abundant number of macrophages secreted in circulation by white adipose tissue. They also release free fatty acids and glycerol, promoting resistance to insulin, and leading to type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, although the mechanisms behind this remain uncharacterized [80,81,[82][83][84][85][86]. They are consistently elevated in obese subjects and in type 2 diabetes in subjects with a high risk of coronary heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis, leading to an increase in lipolysis and lipid oxidation [80,[82][83][84][87][88][89].…”