China， like many other countries is experiencing an epidemic of obesity. It is estimated that around 40% of children under 10 years old are clinically overweight. This staggering statistic is not only alarming but also increases the population risk of the development of maturity onset diabetes， heart disease and stroke. Prof. Tony Heagerty introduced the role of perivascular fat in this procedure.
     The distribution of fat is around all organs in the body and there is emerging evidence that fat around the heart can produce rhythm disturbances and around blood vessels the fat can be very influential in altering blood vessel contraction and relaxation characteristics. Recently， the Cardiovascular Research Group in Manchester has reported that healthy fat around blood vessels releases a factor which relaxes arteries and reduces blood pressure and improves nutritional blood flow to tissues. When patients become obese， the release of this factor is lost and blood pressure rises and nutritive blood flow is reduced. These are the causes of high blood pressure and diabetes and it is now clear that these conditions are caused by the loss of the healthy properties of fat cells. Fat cells are an engine room manufacturing an enormous number of proteins and hormones and can be influenced by outside external conditions and factors.
    When someone gains weight their fat cells enlarge because they have to house the excess energy. This causes the cells to become inflamed because they are starved of oxygen and as a result of this， healthy production of proteins is lost and this leads to a narrowing of blood vessels and a worsening of blood pressure and diabetes. The key then is to reduce weight but if this is not possible then perhaps new drugs can be developed which can improve fat cell function and therefore restore blood vessel activity to normal， thereby lowering blood pressure and preventing diabetes.