Adipose tissue aging population

NIDDM, also called Type II diabetes, generally presents in persons over 30 years of age. NiODM is associated with obesity Perhaps two-thirds of all persons with NIDDM are also obese. The overall defect in NIDDM is that the muscle and adipose tissue tend not to respond to insulin. NIDDM is a product of multiple biochemical defects that result in impaired glucose metabolism. Apparently, each of these defects accounts for no more than 5 10% of the population of those with NIDDM. NIDDM develops initially because of defects in insulin s ability to transmit a signal rather than by a lack of insulin in the bloodstream, and for this reason the disease is called non-insulin-depcndcnl diabetes mellitus. 

Epidemiological data on human populations show a strong positive correlation between age-adjusted mortality from breast cancer and dietary fat intake in different countries of the world (Carroll Khor, 1975 Carroll, 1975) but, as in the experiments with animals, there does not seem to be a correlation with intake of essential fatty acids. More detailed analysis of the data showed a positive correlation with intake of animal fat, but little or no correlation with intake of vegetal fat (Carroll, 1975). Moreover, although breast cancer mortality is about 5 times as hi in Americans as in Japanese, the per capita intake of linoleic acid is reported to be about the same in both countries (Insull et al, 1969). In addition, an analysis of the fatty acid composition of adipose tissue showed a level of 16.5% linoleic acid in Japanese compared to 10.2% in Americans (Insull et al, 1969). 

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