Body fat is the fat which the body of a person stores. Every individual stores some amount of fat. This fat provides protection, insulation and energy to the body.
Body fat serves two purposes:
- It stores extra calories in a safe way so that you can you can use them from the fat stores when you eat less or are in a calorie deficit.
- It regulates hormones responsible for controlling metabolism.
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Importance of body fat :
If you are trying to lose weight, measuring body weight alone is not enough .This is because, exercises and nutritious food can build your muscle. Thus sometimes weighing scale shows an increase in weight despite the body losing fat.
Although BMI is used to measure whether you are overweight or not. But BMI is not perfect measure of health.
If you are a bodybuilder or athlete, you may be considered overweight despite a low percentage of body fat .This is due to the presence of high muscle mass in this class of people.
Conversely if you are an older person then your B.M.I will be lower despite the higher fat percentage.
This is due to less muscle mass in these classes of people.
Also BMI does not take age, gender or ethnicity into account. Therefore you cannot apply BMI equally to every individual.
Working mechanism of body fat :
The fat cell forms the body fat. These cells are also known as adipocytes. These cells stores extra lipids of the body. The lipids are the molecules that includes fat and related substances.
If the body burns more energy (calories) than it consumes, then it takes the necessary energy from body fat. This causes fat cells to shrink in size.
On the contrary, if you are not active then the body does not burn the available calories.
The fat cells continue to grow as body stores excess calories . As they grow older they begin to secrete chemicals.
These chemicals cause obesity and other related diseases. Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease are among them.
Types Of Fat Cells:
There are mainly three types of fat cells:
White fat cells:
It is also known as white adipocytes. This is the most standard type of fat that everyone knows about.
It is used to store excess energy so that the body can use it in times of need.
Functions of white fat cells:
White fat provides insulation to internal organs.Thus they keep the body warm.
It also plays an important role in the secretion of many hormones in the body, some of which are
- Cortisol (stress hormone)
- Estrogen (female sex hormone.)
- Leptin (hunger stimulating hormone.)
- Growth hormones
Although some amount of white fat is essential for the body, it is harmful to have too much of it.
High levels of fat can lead to many diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart diseases.
Brown fat cells:
Brown fat is the good fat. The babies mainly contains brown fat. Adults also contains it in certain amounts.The shoulder and neck region of adults contains brown fat cells.
Brown fat helps to keep the body warm. This is due to the fact that it creates heat when it burns. The whole process is known thermogenesis.
Beige(Brite fat) cells:
The beige fat functions between brown and white fat cells. The beige fat also has some calorie burning properties. But it is different from brown fat. The difference lies in the fact that the brown fat founds its origin in its own precursor cells .whereas beige fat originates from white fat or the same precursor cells that creates white fat.
Adult people mainly contains beige fat.Therefore beige fat is practically more important. On the other and brown fat is limited only to babies. Adult individuals rarely contains beige fat.
Types of body fat:
There are several types of fat in the body. Some fats are good for overall health of a person. But some other types of fat are harmful and may lead to several diseases.
- Essential fat.
- Subcutaneous fat.
- Visceral fat.
Essential fat:
Essential fat it is the fat which is essential for any person. It is mainly found in :
- Human brain.
- Nerves.
- Bone marrow.
- Membranes that protect your organs.
These fats play an important role in regulating hormones. This fat regulates all those hormones that control vitamin absorption , temperature regulation and fertility .
Subcutaneous fat:
This fat is a combination of white, brown and beige fat cells. This fat is found under the skin. Subcutaneous fat constitutes the major part of body fat.
When we use calipers to estimate the total fat percentage, we actually measure subcutaneous fat.
Visceral fat:
This fat mainly found around abdomen region. The visceral fat is mainly formed from white fat cell . This fat is also commonly known as belly fat.
This fat covers all major organs heart, kidney, intestine, liver and pancreas.
Study shows that high levels of visceral fat are dangerous. This is because it can lead to greater risk of diseases like diabetes and heart problems.
Benefits of body fat :
It is very important for a person . Satisfactory amount of fat provide many advantages such as:
Good metabolism
Appropriate secretion of hormones.
Body temperature maintenance.
Better neurological function.
Blood sugar control.
Proper vitamin storage.
Better reproductive health.
Risks associated with body fat:
High amounts of fat carry various health risks for a person. Among all types of fat, the excess of visceral fat is the most harmful.
It can lead to many health risks such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, coronary artery disease, hormone imbalance, pregnancy complications, and some types of cancer.
Ideal body fat percentage:
The ideal fat percentage is different for men and women. Women have higher fat percentage than men.
According to the American Council of Exercise, the following are the ideal fat percentages for women and men :
Conclusion:
Body fat is essential for a individual. But its excess amount poses many health risks.
Therefore you should always keep it in proper proportion . It helps you avoid various health risks associated with high amounts of fat.
Also Read : 9 Main Hormones responsible for weight gain
Why dieters regains the lost weight