Dietary manipulation of fat metabolism in relation to obesity and insulin resistence

The global epidemic of overweight and obesity is rapidly increasing throughout the
world. This alarming increase in obesity is associated with a lower age of onset and
an increased incidence and prevalence of obesity-related comorbidities like type 2
diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Changes in lifestyle are considered to play an important
role in the etiology of obesity and T2DM but there is a need for additional
preventive strategies to increase the effectiveness of dietary programs. The
identification of food and food ingredients that could influence specific physiological
targets like increasing fat oxidation and restoring metabolic flexibility may be helpful
in the prevention and treatment of obesity as well as diabetes. Therefore, in this
thesis we investigated the effects of several dietary interventions on body weight
control as well as the prevention and/or reversal of insulin resistance by modulation
of fat metabolism.
Ellen Konings, June 7th 2013