There is always fat in our body. It is only when there is too much of it that we are entitled to talk of being overweight. It acts at the same time as a store room for our bodies and as a protective cushion.
Fat makes a covering on the surface of our bodies. It is about a quarter of an inch thick under the lower layer of the skin, where it fills the gaps in the cellular spaces or subcutaneous tissue. It gives the skin its appearance of fullness, and ensures suppleness of the body’s movements. It is thickest in certain places where, in some overweight people, it forms veritable rolls of fat, usually on the stomach, the breasts, the thighs, hips and the buttocks. In the normal body, the layer at these places should be no more than a half-inch thick.
Fat is general, apart from the aesthetic objections and the troubles, and illness to which it can give rise, has the grave disadvantage of making surgical operations (and particularly abdominal surgery) very difficult.
Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, are dependent on fat for absorption and transportation in the body. Thus, individuals who eliminate fat in the diet with the understanding that they are ‘being healthy’ cannot absorb these vitamins and develop deficiencies, and may compromise the absorption and utilization of other nutrients dependent on fat in the diet.
Fat provides the largest energy reserve in the body. For a person weighing 70 kilograms (154 pounds) approximately 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds) can be stored in the body. This represents about 80,000 Kcal. One pound of stored fat or adipose represents approximately 40,000 Kcal.
Where does fat go?
Fat consumed which represents a large part of the fat stored by the body undergoes chemical changes in the intestines before passing into the blood.
Fat makes a covering on the surface of our bodies. It is about a quarter of an inch thick under the lower layer of the skin, where it fills the gaps in the cellular spaces or subcutaneous tissue. It gives the skin its appearance of fullness, and ensures suppleness of the body’s movements. It is thickest in certain places where, in some overweight people, it forms veritable rolls of fat, usually on the stomach, the breasts, the thighs, hips and the buttocks. In the normal body, the layer at these places should be no more than a half-inch thick.
Fat is general, apart from the aesthetic objections and the troubles, and illness to which it can give rise, has the grave disadvantage of making surgical operations (and particularly abdominal surgery) very difficult.
Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, are dependent on fat for absorption and transportation in the body. Thus, individuals who eliminate fat in the diet with the understanding that they are ‘being healthy’ cannot absorb these vitamins and develop deficiencies, and may compromise the absorption and utilization of other nutrients dependent on fat in the diet.
Fat provides the largest energy reserve in the body. For a person weighing 70 kilograms (154 pounds) approximately 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds) can be stored in the body. This represents about 80,000 Kcal. One pound of stored fat or adipose represents approximately 40,000 Kcal.
Where does fat go?
Fat consumed which represents a large part of the fat stored by the body undergoes chemical changes in the intestines before passing into the blood.
If the fat is not used up right away as fuel needed by the body (for a work load or for exercise etc) it becomes over-concentrated in the blood and the blood unloads it into the connective tissues. It then becomes a reserve of dormant fat.
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