Linseed as a functional food for the management of obesity

In the short term, energy from food is stored predominantly as glycogen for rapid release as glucose; in the longer term, fats are favoured for energy storage. This storage allows the energy from times of excess to be used in times of famine. Continued excess energy intake means that stores keep increasing, resulting in obesity, especially in the abdomen. Obesity is an enormous cost to the community as it greatly increases the risk of chronic diseases including diabetes, disability, depression, cardiovascular disease and some cancers, as well as mortality. Food is essential for nutrition, but non-nutritive components of food can promote health and reduce the risk of disease. This combination of nutrition and health benefits defines functional foods and includes bioactive fatty acids, phenolic compounds, plant sterols, dietary calcium and dietary fibre.