Les 10es Entretiens de nutrition, institut Pasteur de Lille, France L’obésité, une maladie nutritionnelle ?

The continued increase in the prevalence of obesity is put down to the difference between our calorific needs and our calorie consumption. But aside from these quantitative causes, there may well also be qualitative explanations, connected with the different types of fatty acids to be found in our diet. The polyunsaturated fatty acids in the omega-3 and omega-6 groups have different and sometimes opposing roles in the synthesis, transport and storage of adipose tissue lipids. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio has more than tripled over the past 40 years. There are now large quantities of mechanistic, epidemiological and clinical data supporting the hypothesis that an omega-3 deficit has a role in the genesis of obesity.