Oxidative stress is a central cause of obesity

68 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. Obesity refers to an over-fat condition that is accompanied by a group of health problems that scientists call obesity syndrome. These problems include poor blood sugar regulation, abnormal blood lipid levels, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and increased fat storage in the abdominal area. Scientists do not yet fully understand how people become obese, but they are making progress.

A groundbreaking study led by Guenther Boden of Temple University found that excessive calorie intake (6,000 kcal per day) for one week caused metabolic stress in men, which triggered insulin resistance. Free radicals generated by the excessive food intake caused the degradation of many proteins including GLUT4 - an important glucose transporter that is crucial for blood sugar regulation.

Increased oxidative stress due to excessive calorie intake could be an important trigger for the "obesity syndrome".

(Science Translational Medicine, 7(340): 304re7, 2015)