Internal Fat as a Hormone Factory

Adipose tissue is an anatomical term for loose connective tissue composed of adipocytes (fat cells).

The traditional view of adipose tissue as an inert energy storage depot has changed over recent years to see adipose tissue as a complex, essential, and highly active metabolic and endocrine organ.

Specific metabolic processes regulated by adipose tissue include lipid metabolism, glucose homeostasis, inflammation, angiogenesis, regulation of blood coagulation, and blood pressure.

Adipose tissue not only responds to afferent signals from traditional hormone systems and the central nervous system but also expresses and secretes factors with important endocrine functions.

The intensity and complexity of these signals are highly regulated, differ in each fat pad, and are dramatically affected by various disease states. They have a high plasticity, being able to expand and contract in response to changes in energy balance.

The location of the adipose tissue also exhibit different metabolic effects.

For example, leptin is produced more in the subcutaneous fat than in the visceral fat and regulates metabolism, appetite and signals the brain about body fat stores.

IL-6 is produced more in the visceral fat than in the subcutaneous and regulates inflammation.

The adipocyte also expresses receptors for endocrine substances.

The Metabolic BioMarkers course looks at 12 specific sites that correlate with adipose tissue (fat cells) as a complex, essential, and highly active metabolic and endocrine organ. This includes an understanding of individual patterns of fat distribution and their health-related associations.

Kinesiology has the capacity to build, strengthen and balance all of the body’s adaptive and homeostatic regulatory systems simultaneously. This comprehensive therapeutic approach is uniquely effective because it addresses health disorders at a deep level, at their point of origin.