Summary

White adipose tissue is thought to be critical in controlling the amount of fat in lean tissue because it takes up excess dietary fat to prevent potentially toxic dietary fatty acids from being metabolized by lean tissue. At least 4 different mechanisms are thought to contribute to the deposition of ectopic fat: increased dietary fat, increase uptake of nonesterified fatty acids from white adipose tissue lipolysis, impaired fatty acid oxidation, and increased lipogenesis. This article reviews research to understand abnormal organ-specific postprandial storage of dietary fatty acids, and the impact of lifestyle intervention to reduce this storage.