Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor a (PPAR alpha) is important in the regulation of lipid metabolism and expressed at high levels in the liver. Although PPAR alpha is also expressed in adipose tissue, little is known about the relationship between its activation and the regulation of glucose metabolism. In this study, we developed adipose tissue specific PPARa over-expression (OE) mice. Metabolomics and insulin tolerance tests showed that OE induces branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) profile and improvement of insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, LC-MS and PCR analyses revealed that OE changes free fatty acid (FFA) profile and reduces obesity-induced inflammation. These findings suggested that PPAR alpha activation in adipose tissue contributes to the improvement of glucose metabolism disorders via the enhancement of BCAA and FFA metabolism. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.