Dietary Influences on White and Brown Adipose Tissue: Mechanisms and Health Implications

The field of research focuses on the effects of nutrients and bioactive compounds on adipose tissue function. The rates of obesity are highly elevated worldwide, and excess adiposity is one of the most critical risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. White and brown adipose tissues play essential roles in energy homeostasis and act as important endocrine organs secreting adipokines with paracrine, endocrine, and autocrine functions that can affect other organs and tissues. Unlike white adipose tissue, which stores energy, brown adipose tissue can dissipate energy as heat and has been considered a crucial target for treating obesity. Although dietary factors have been reported to promote metabolic alterations affecting white and brown adipose tissue functions, little is known about the specific effects of nutrients and bioactive compounds on these tissues. Understanding how different dietary patterns, foods, nutrients, and bioactive compounds directly affect white and brown adipose tissue function is essential to promote strategies to reduce the morbimortality rates from obesity and its comorbidities. The expansion of white adipose tissue promotes a myriad of metabolic effects, including increased inflammation and insulin resistance, which can trigger type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in the long term. While some evidence suggests that nutrients, such as saturated fatty acids, can directly affect white adipose tissue, data regarding the effects of nutrients and bioactive compounds on adipose tissue function remain scarce. Recent data indicate that some nutrients, especially bioactive compounds, could promote adipose tissue browning. However, how these bioactive compounds could benefit human brown and white adipose tissues remains to be explored.

This research topic aims to gather data from experimental and human studies investigating the effects of dietary patterns, food items, nutrients, and bioactive compounds on white and brown adipose tissues. The manuscripts should provide novel and crucial information to help understand how diet directly affects adipose tissue metabolism. In vitro and in vivo studies, as well as relevant reviews and meta-analyses, will be considered for publication. Additionally, authors are encouraged to submit translational research focusing on the mechanistic effects of specific nutrients and/or bioactive compounds in adipose tissue and how they affect cardiometabolic risk, especially in humans.

To gather further insights into the effects of nutrients and bioactive compounds on adipose tissue function, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Mechanistic studies on how specific nutrients affect white and brown adipose tissue function
- The role of bioactive compounds in promoting adipose tissue browning
- Dietary patterns and their impact on adipose tissue metabolism
- The relationship between adipose tissue function and cardiometabolic risk
- Translational research focusing on human studies and clinical trials
- In vitro and in vivo models to study adipose tissue responses to dietary interventions
- Reviews and meta-analyses summarizing current knowledge and identifying research gaps