DALLAS, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A U.S. study found mice can overeat without developing insulin resistance or diabetes because of the hormone adiponectin.
Study leader Dr. Philipp Scherer, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said that mice with an abundance of adiponectin, a hormone that controls sensitivity to insulin, and a lack of leptin, a hormone that curbs appetite, spurs storage of excess calories in fat tissue instead of in liver, heart or muscle tissue -- places where excess fat can lead to inflammation, diabetes and heart disease.
This dichotomy helps explain why not all obese people are diabetic, said Scherer, who led a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers.
"The message isn’t that it’s good to be obese, but that expanded fat mass, when stored in the right places, can help prevent diabetes and reduce the risk of heart disease," Scherer said in a statement.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, found the continual firing of adiponectin resulted in very fat mice, but they had normal fasting glucose levels and glucose tolerance indicating the inability to appropriately expand fat mass in times of overeating may be an underlying cause of insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
