Thursday, May 08, 2008

Fat Cells

A recent study came out of Sweden that says that adults have a fixed number of fat cells, the same number that you have when you leave adolescence and join adulthood. What changes is the size of the cells, not the number of them. Also in this report, subcutaneous fat (under the skin) isn't anywhere near as bad for you as the fat that surrounds the organs and connective tissues (I can't remember the name of this- help!). Another things is that the fat you get on your ass and hips is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which promotes brain cell growth and some other good stuff too. Basically women's kind of fat (ass, hips, and thighs) is much much healthier than male's kind of fat (mostly abdominal). They also found out that the ass fat actually promotes good health, and counter acts the bad effects of the abdominal fat. This doesn't mean that you should head to the ice cream parlor ladies, but it does sorta make you re-think what the word 'fat' means doesn't it?

1 comment:

Liz said...

it's visceral (organ) vs. subcutaneous fat.

I don't know about the number of fat cells being capped (I'm stoked about that if it's true though), but I DO know that you can't ever get RID of fat cells. they just shrink. That's why it's so hard to keep weight off once you get fat.