OBESITY IS A REGULATORY DISORDER

...  and makes people sick, unlike fatty tissue

The disease-causing aspects of obesity have a great deal to do with the quality of our diet and the reciprocal effect of fatty tissue and the immune system. Fatty tissue and the immune system are in extremely close communication with each other. How else could the immune system work as an energy distributor, especially when it comes to the end of a healing process?

 

Obesity leads to the release of more inflammatory molecules. The underlying inflammatory condition of our body is discernible and the first step towards chronic illness is complete.

These inflammatory processes harm the vessels and within that inflammatory milieu, their permeability changes. Cells which would otherwise not be found there begin drifting into the tissue and molecules are deposited in the inflamed vessel walls, which ultimately leads to atherosclerosis and, depending on genetic disposition, other chronic diseases as well. An acidic milieu develops in various tissues of the body as a result of inflammation and the metabolic dynamics which are fundamentally determined by our diet. The body’s essential fat-burning processes for energy generation (see oxidation) release too many highly reactive oxygen compounds which can damage every cell once the body’s buffer capacity is exhausted.

An acidic milieu develops in various tissues of the body as a result of inflammation and the metabolic dynamics which are fundamentally determined by our diet. The body’s essential fat-burning processes for energy generation (see oxidation) release too many highly reactive oxygen compounds which can damage every cell once the body’s buffer capacity is exhausted. 

Fatty tissue and immunity are closely related

Fatty tissue has inflammatory, anti-inflammatory and inflammation-modulating properties. So far, more than 100 molecules (peptides and proteins) have been identified as contributing to that process. Those molecules are all of a scintillating kind. Molecules are all scintillating in their own way. They can become immunologically, metabolically and neurologically active. They have a very three-dimensional form, which is why they can have an effect that extends beyond the boundaries of individual systems. This is yet another example of the proof that the body only speaks one language.


We should not regard our body as a rigid framework operated by a key-lock system.


All molecular compounds are flexible, three-dimensional and hugely diverse in shape. This allows one molecule to replace another and compensate for its deficiencies accordingly.


If that were not the case, human life would not be sustainable.

The spectrum of values we are able to measure when metabolic disorders occur underlines the role of fatty tissue as the interface between the major regulatory systems and our metabolism. Increases in C-reactive protein, tumour necrosis factor alpha or interleukin 6 are therefore frequently measured when metabolic illnesses like insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes-related obesity or a metabolic syndrome presents.

also helps control the inflammatory processes. Too much fatty tissue will destroy that balance, just as much as too little will.

To see the whole: It is often not easy to see the wood for the trees.

Fatty tissue is extremely important for our wellbeing, energy supply and intact functioning of the immune system. This becomes particularly evident in the context of endurance sports.

It is not the fat that makes people fat but too much food – particularly in the form of ready-made or highly processed meals and carbohydrates, with sugar being the main culprit. Why that is the case is something I will briefly touch on in the next chapter.

 

Obesity on the other hand leads to systemic inflammation, which is harmful to our vessels and metabolism. But a lack of fatty tissue is also not good for the body. Immune deficiencies and metabolic disorders may be the result of insufficient fatty tissue. Once again, it is all about keeping the body in balance.

 

It is a major challenge for each of us to look at the whole picture and not just the individual parts.


We need to rethink our attitude to fatty tissue.


It is high time for de-stigmatisation.


At the same time, we all need to be well aware of the harm caused by obesity.