Yes. Chronic overnutrition overloads fat tissue. When fat tissue can no longer store the excess, it becomes inflamed. Then fat spills into muscle, liver, pancreas and heart. That low-grade inflammation triggers insulin resistance and sets up type 2 diabetes.
We have been looking at metabolic inflammation. We have seen its role in obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Does overnutrition (eating more than your body needs) add to metabolic inflammation? How?
- Some background on overnutrition
It is estimated that by 2020, two-thirds of the global burden of disease will come from chronic non-communicable diseases (ones you cannot catch from others). Most of these are associated with diet. Hunger is a huge global health problem that must not be played down. But overnutrition deserves the same close attention. Malnutrition affects up to 1 billion people. Undernutrition is the main cause of malnutrition. Even so, people who are overweight could also be malnourished.
The “double burden of malnutrition” is a term coined by the World Health Organization (WHO). It describes a situation marked by “the coexistence of undernutrition along with overweight and obesity, or diet-related non-communicable diseases, within individuals, households and populations, and across the life course.” Around the world, the problem is not how much food there is. It is how food is shared out and eaten.
- What is overnutrition?
Overnutrition is defined as the overconsumption of nutrients and food to the point that it harms health. Overnutrition can lead to obesity. Obesity raises the risk of serious illness. That includes heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), cancer, and type-2 diabetes.
Until recently, overnutrition was seen as a problem that only affected rich nations. But it has since been shown to affect most populations. Obesity is rising in developing countries as fast food and refined sugars arrive.
It was once seen as a disease of the rich. Now low-income groups in richer countries are also being hit by it.
- What is overnutrition induced inflammation?
Inflammation is a defense the immune system launches against dangerous attacks that threaten the body’s normal workings. Chronic nutrient overload causes more problems in adipose tissue (body fat). If fat tissue cannot expand much, more of it becomes thickened. This leads to a pro-inflammatory state. That state can trigger insulin resistance and the release of macrophage chemoattractant proteins (signals that call in immune cells). In chronic inflammation, it can even kill the thickened fat tissue itself. This sets up a cycle that spreads insulin resistance to all fat tissue.
A key feature of diseases caused by overnutrition is chronic low-grade inflammation caused by nutritional excess. This inflammation is thought to occur in the brain. So it is thought to play a broad and steering role in diseases caused by overnutrition.
- Overnutrition and the metabolic syndrome
The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic risk factors. These include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. They also include high blood sugar, a pro-inflammatory state and a prothrombotic state (a tendency to form clots).
Most people with metabolic syndrome are obese, and they usually carry the fat around the belly. In general, obesity reflects overnutrition. One current view goes like this. When fat tissue fails to store all extra food as triglyceride (stored fat), fat starts to build up in other tissues (eg, muscle, liver, pancreas, and heart). So the root of the metabolic syndrome appears to be overnutrition. That means taking in more nutrients than the body can safely burn off as fat (lipid oxidation).
When obesity is present, fat tissue becomes inflamed. This inflammation may lead to a pro-inflammatory state. That could contribute to both ASCVD (heart and blood vessel disease from clogged arteries) and diabetes.
- What is carbohydrate overnutrition?
Most evidence supports the idea that fatty acids are the final common pathway to nutrient overload in tissues. Less attention has been paid to the possible harm of eating too many carbohydrates.
When carbs keep pushing the body to release insulin over time, it could have the following harmful effects:
- The β-cell function may be impaired by chronic glucotoxicity
- Carbohydrate-induced hyperinsulinemia (high insulin) may lower muscle insulin sensitivity.
Also, high carbohydrate intake can push the liver to make new fat (lipogenesis). Fatty acids made this way can feed into the final common pathway of fat building up where it does not belong. So we need to look further into the role of carbohydrate overnutrition in the metabolic syndrome.
- What factors contribute to overnutrition?
Obesity in the United States has reached startling heights. The National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave an estimate for 2015-2016. Obesity in the United States was 39.8% in adults and 18.5% in youth.
Obvious factors like genetics, drugs, and other medical conditions may contribute to obesity. But behavior is perhaps the most common contributor. A healthy weight in one person is associated with a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Restaurants serve meals packed with calories, some with as much as 2,000 calories. The inactive lifestyle most people live adds to the epidemic.
Sadly, this obesity-promoting culture has spread to other nations, including many developing countries. China, for example, now has more than 5,000 Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants in 1,100 cities. McDonald’s expects to have 4,500 restaurants in China by 2022, up from 2,500 in 2017. More and more Chinese households also own TVs, cars, and other technology that cuts physical activity and makes weight gain easier.
Note that economic inequality in developing nations is a primary cause of both overnutrition and undernutrition. Studies in India show that income inequality had the same effect on the risk of being overweight as on the risk of being underweight. For each standard deviation increase in income inequality, the odds of being underweight rose by 19%. The odds of being obese rose by 21%.
Some people can afford more food than they need each day. Others cannot get the calories they need. Yet in more nations, more poor people are becoming overweight. That is because they eat cheap but calorie-packed meals, such as fast food and processed foods.
- What then should be done to avoid overnutrition?
One way to see how overnutrition affects metabolism is through overfeeding studies. These indicate that overnutrition makes metabolic health worse. But each person is expected to respond in a different way. Such studies could potentially help find the people who are most at risk of getting metabolic risk factors.
Many genetic factors likely act at the tissue level to shape how the body responds to excess nutrients. Different people may react differently to fat buildup. But overnutrition is generally considered to trigger metabolic disorders. It is also considered to set people up for chronic conditions like Type 2 Diabetes. When you choose what to eat, make sure you pick balanced meals rich in fiber and nutrients. Avoid the modern fast-food craze. The cost of bad eating is too high.
Frequently asked questions
What is metabolic inflammation?
Metabolic inflammation, or metainflammation, is chronic low-grade inflammation caused by nutritional excess. When fat tissue can no longer expand to store what you eat, it thickens and becomes inflamed. It sends out signals that call in immune cells. That inflammation triggers insulin resistance. The insulin resistance then spreads through the rest of your fat tissue, setting up type 2 diabetes.
How do you get rid of metabolic inflammation?
Remove the overload that feeds it. Metabolic inflammation starts when you take in more than your body can safely burn. So stop overfeeding your fat tissue. Skip fast food and processed food. Turn down 2,000-calorie restaurant meals. Cut the hours of sitting that let the excess pile up. Overfeeding studies show that excess food by itself makes metabolic health worse.
What are the signs of metabolic syndrome?
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors. These are high cholesterol, raised blood pressure, insulin resistance, high blood sugar, a pro-inflammatory state and a tendency to form clots. Most people with it are obese, usually around the belly. Its foundation is overnutrition. When fat tissue cannot store the excess as triglyceride, fat builds up in muscle, liver, pancreas and heart.
Can eating too many carbs cause insulin resistance?
Yes. Carbohydrate overnutrition keeps insulin release switched on. Over time, that constant demand can wear out the insulin-making beta cells through glucotoxicity (damage from high blood sugar). The high insulin levels can also dull your muscles’ response to insulin. A high-carbohydrate intake also makes the liver build new fat. That fat joins the same pathway that loads fat into muscle, liver and pancreas.
Related reading
- Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Inflammation
- Metabolic Inflammation: What It Is
- Metabolic Inflammation and Type 2 Diabetes
- Obesity and Immune Activation: Metabolic Inflammation
- Does Overeating Cause Diabetes?
References
- Unite for Sight (2018): Module 4: Overnutrition. Retrieved from http://www.uniteforsight.org/hunger/module4
- NCBI (2009): From chronic overnutrition to insulin resistance: the role of fat-storing capacity and inflammation. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19171470
- NCBI(2013): Neuroinflammation in Overnutrition-induced Diseases. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4389772/
- American Federation for Medical Research (2016): Overnutrition, ectopic lipid, and metabolic syndrome. Retrieved from https://jim.bmj.com/content/jim/64/6/1082.full.pdf
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP
Interventional pain physician, addiction medicine specialist and obesity medicine diplomate.
Licensed in Missouri and Illinois.
Last reviewed June 18, 2026
