The type of fat a person eats may create the conditions for or, on the other hand, prevent the development of obesity, according to a report presented at the 6th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids held in Brighton, England.

The study, presented by Patricia Pérez Matute of the University of Navarre, suggests that eating saturated fats appears to lead to the development of obesity, while eating polyunsaturated fats -- such as from fish oils -- appears to prevent and correct both obesity and insulin resistance.

"Eskimos who ingest greater quantities of fish in their diet have lower rates of mortality from heart diseases frequently associated with obesity," Perez Matute said.

Particularly interesting, she reported, is the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) – one of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids -- on leptin, a gene involved in regulating body weight.

"It was observed that EPA was capable of stimulating the secretion of leptin in primary cell cultures of fat from rats," Perez Matute said.

This stimulating effect, in her view, is of great interest"given that any strategy favoring the increase of leptin levels may well be beneficial for maintaining body weight during treatment for obesity and, thus, also obtain an improvement in those pathologies associated with obesity such as diabetes, artherosclerosis, etc."

Other sources: Clinical Science