A Healthier Way to Look at Body Fat

You need some body fat for optimal health. However, where it’s stored may affect your risk of health problems.

---

Body fat facts

Here's how your body stores fat. When you eat, the main parts of food—protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fat—are broken down and mostly metabolized as energy to power the basic biological processes that keep you living and kicking.

Any fuel that isn't used is kept as lipids, which are fatty molecules, in fat cells called adipocytes all over the body. How big fat cells get is based on how much of this stored food they have, which is measured in calories. In fact, fat cells can change their size by as much as 50 times.

You don't lose fat cells, and once you're an adult, the number stays pretty much the same. You can't choose where your body stores fat either. "Body type, age, hormones, and genetics all play a role in where extra fat goes," says Dr. Apovian, co-director of the Centre for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Storing fat is not bad in and of itself. Fat stores energy in case the body needs it in an emergency, and it also keeps the body warm and protects important organs. Leptin, a hormone that works on the brain to make people feel less hungry and help keep their weight in check, is also released by fat cells.

Using the fuel

There are different ways to burn excess stored fat. The first is to reduce your calorie intake. When you consume fewer calories than your body needs, your body converts stored fat into usable energy for fuel. As a result, fat cells get smaller, and you lose weight.

Low-carb diets follow this approach since carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of calories. Research has shown low-carb diets can help jump-start weight loss, but the effect can wane after about six months to a year.

This is why many nutritionists promote an all-around healthy diet that includes adequate amounts of protein, carbohydrate, and fat as well as essential vitamins and minerals. A low-carb diet can help in the short term, but if you don’t adjust your overall eating habits, you can gain it all back.

The other way to burn fat and shrink fat cells is with exercise. Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise like brisk walking, cycling, and swimming can force the body to tap into stored fat for energy. However, how quickly your body burns fat depends on your body size and exercise intensity.

#Nuti4All #ASEAN #AYSJ2023 #aseanfoundation #usmissiontoasean #SDGs #health #nutrition #BeASEAN