In obesity, the energy balance in the body is disturbed. This often leads to reduced immunity and health problems. It is not entirely clear how these aspects are linked together at the levels of the cell, tissues and the body. Understanding this linkage is the basis for possible solutions. In his inaugural address upon accepting the post of Professor of Human and Animal Physiology, Prof. Jaap Keijer addressed targets for restoring the energy balance. The oration took place on 18 June at Wageningen University.
Insufficient or excessive fat tissue sometimes results in similar problems in the body, such as insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Half of Dutch men and 40% of Dutch women are now obese. Prof. Jaap Keijer's group is focusing on exactly what goes wrong with physical processes with obesity.
In his oration, 'Lichaam in balans' (Body in balance), Keijer describes how the energy balance is driven by mitochondria, the power plants that are present in every cell. The mitochondria efficiently convert glucose into energy that is usable by the body. During this process, they use oxygen that has entered the body through the lungs. This oxygen is used almost entirely to produce energy.
It has been shown that the fatty tissue in overweight people has an oxygen deficiency, which causes the energy that is stored there to be converted in an unhealthy manner. Other energy-related processes that are controlled by mitochondria also do not function correctly. This causes the tissue to lose its balance, says Keijer, which ultimately leads to the death of fat cells. This in turn causes small, widely dispersed inflammations, which cause a further deterioration of health.
Solutions
Experiments that Keijer conducted a few years ago with Czech colleagues showed that including fatty acids from fish in the diet can reverse the tide. Overweight mice that ate fish lost weight, while mice that got the equal amount of calories from vegetable fat stayed the same weight. The effect of fatty fish was also visible in the increased activity of genes involved in the formation of mitochondria and fat burning. So there are opportunities to use bioactive substances in the diet to restore the energy balance in the body.
In his ongoing and future research, Prof. Keijer and his staff primarily want to research bioactive substances from plants, such as polyphenols, including quercetin from onions, apples, tea and wine, and carotenoid supplements. The can clarify the link between the observed average extended lifespan of people with a healthy diet (including many vegetables and fruits, fish and wine) and the health effects of individual substances, such as fatty acids from fish and polyphenols from those foods.
Note for the editor
For more information, please contact Prof. Jaap Keijer, Human and Animal Physiology group, Wageningen University, tel. 0317 484136, jaap.keijer@wur.nl, or Jac Niessen, science information officer of Wageningen UR, tel. 0317 485003, jac.niessen@wur.nl