THE ADIPOCYTES GET larger as they take up the triglycerides for storage. This is not particularly dangerous to our health since adipocytes are designed to store fat. But being too fat is dangerous from an evolutionary standpoint, because fat animals get eaten. The adipocytes protect themselves against overexpansion by releasing the hormone leptin. This signals the hypothalamic area of the brain that we need to lose fat. We stop eating, insulin drops, and we lose weight. In this way, obesity serves as the first line of defense against hyperinsulinemia.
