TNF and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Abdominal obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) because visceral adipocytes in response to excess lipid reserves secrete more inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and chemokines like monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1).