MONDAY, September 1, (News Locale) - In addition to having unwanted pounds that pose a danger to their overall health, obese individuals actually have fat cells that are sicker than those found in their leaner counterparts, a new study has indicated.

The study from Temple University in Philadelphia also suggests these dysfunctional fat cells in obese individuals are responsible for increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in obesity. The researchers analyzed fat cells taken from the thigh of 12 people.

Among then six individuals were classified as obese, while the rest were of normal weight.

The researchers report fat cells in obese people were deficient in many ways when compared to fat cells of their leaner counterparts. Furthermore fats cells in obese individuals were more stressed and also had more inflammation.

Study author Guenther Boden, who is the Laura H. Carnell Professor of Medicine and chief of endocrinology said fat cells in obese people had extra stress on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which in turn released proteins that hike insulin resistance.

Dr Boden added the study may help explain why obese individuals are more prone to develop diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. The details of the study appear in Diabetes, a journal of the American Diabetes Association.

Obesity is a dangerous condition which is linked to the so-called lifestyle diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, heart disease, poor self-esteem, and a lower health-related quality of life.

Sedentary lifestyle practices coupled with a shift in diet to junk foods are the main reason behind this explosion of overweight or obese populations. The World Health Organization has declared obesity as a global epidemic having major health implications in 1997. It estimated that some 2 billion people worldwide are obese or overweight.

The above study is the first to clearly link dysfunctional fat cells in obese people to an increased risk of lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart disease.