The Case for an Immunologic Cause of Obesity

Abstract

The most pressing public health problem at the start of the century is the mounting prevalence of obesity. Acknowledging an interplay between genetics and the environment in the development of obesity, most experts still attribute the rising trend toward obesity to the ready availability of food and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. With a growing body of evidence demonstrating strong links between adipose tissue and the immune system, there is good reason to ask whether the cause of the current obesity epidemic might be a less obvious disorder of immune function, perhaps even the consequence of infection. The interplay between preadipocytes and adipocytes and the immune system is examined, and recommendations for further research are offered.