Rexford S. Ahima is in the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

e-mail: ahima@mail.med.upenn.edu

Obesity accelerates the aging of adipose tissue, a process only now beginning to come to light at the molecular level. Experiments in mice suggest that obesity increases the formation of reactive oxygen species in fat cells, shortens telomeres—and ultimately results in activation of the p53 tumor suppressor, inflammation and the promotion of insulin resistance (pages 1082–1087).

Key words: Connecting obesity, aging and diabetes