adipose tissue endocrine

“Adipose tissue endocrine” captures a shift in thinking: body fat is a working endocrine organ, not a passive grease can. It senses the body’s energy state and broadcasts hormones that influence hunger, blood sugar, blood pressure, reproduction, and immunity.

Adipocytes secrete adipokines such as leptin and adiponectin, which report fat stores and tune insulin action. Fat tissue also handles steroid hormones — for example it contains aromatase, the enzyme that converts androgens into estrogens, making fat a significant source of estrogen after menopause. Beyond signaling, fat is a vital buffer that safely stores excess energy as triglyceride and releases it as fatty acids during fasting.

Location matters enormously. Visceral fat (around the abdominal organs) is more metabolically active and inflammatory than subcutaneous fat under the skin, which helps explain why central obesity carries higher risk of diabetes and heart disease. And one honest nuance: when fat-storing capacity is exceeded, fat spills into the liver and muscle, where it drives insulin resistance — so dysfunctional fat, not merely too much of it, is what harms metabolism.