Effect of diet on human adipose tissue metabolism.

Adipose tissue is, in one sense, the tissue most affected by diet. As the ultimate reservoir for energy storage, its mass reflects an integration of energy imbalance during the bearer’s life. Diet also has qualitative effects on adipose tissue: for instance, the pattern of adipose tissue triacylglycerol (TAG)-fatty acids reflects the dietary fatty acid pattern (Hirsch, 1965; Jacobsen et af. 1983; van Staveren et af. 1986), and fat-soluble xenobiotics (such as pesticides) accumulate in adipose tissue fat (Handelman et af. 1988). Only the energy storage aspect will be considered here. Long-term changes in body-weight involve a change in the amount of TAG stored in adipose tissue; there is a very strong relationship between the body-weight and the body fat content (both corrected for height; Webster et af. 1984). (The associated changes in non-fat tissue will not be considered here.) The processes of fat deposition and fat mobilization are, therefore, in a metabolic sense, the final common pathways for procedures influencing body-weight . The general principle of energy balance, that energy consumed equals energy expended plus the change in body energy stores, cannot be contradicted. But the link between a change in body energy stores and a change in the amount of fat (TAG) stored in adipose tissue is not so obvious. Our studies over the past few years have been aimed at elucidating some of the regulatory aspects of fat deposition and mobilization in humans, and attempting to relate these to energy balance.