In fat tissue from Chinese adults, higher levels of a specific receptor that responds to stress hormones are linked to higher levels of a receptor that triggers inflammation. They're connected in a way that when one goes up, the other tends to go up too.

Scientists looked at two types of fat in lean Chinese adults - belly fat and fat under the skin - and found that certain genes involved in inflammation and stress response are less active in the belly fat.

In adults with obesity from China, a gene called TLR4 that helps control inflammation is more active in fat stored deep inside the belly around organs than in fat found just under the skin.

Researchers looked at several genes related to stress hormones in fat tissue from women's bellies. They found that only one specific gene (11β-HSD1) in the omental fat was linked to belly fat obesity in women, even after accounting for other factors that might affect the results.

Chronic elevation of cortisol preferentially promotes central adiposity due to the higher density of glucocorticoid receptors in visceral adipose tissue compared to subcutaneous depots.

A specific protein called glucocorticoid receptor helps the stress hormone cortisol control how fat is stored and broken down in body fat. This receptor is more abundant in the deep belly fat than in the fat under the skin.