The storage capacity of fat tissue can be exceeded in obesity. In caloric excess, the storage capacity of adipocytes can be exceeded with deleterious results. The excess fat accumulates in other tissues, resulting in biochemical malfunction of the tissues. When the pancreas, muscle, liver, and cells lining the blood vessels are affected, metabolic syndrome, a condition that often precedes type 2 diabetes, may result.
[Information from S. Fröjdö, H. Vidal, and L. Pirola, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1792:83–