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Why Fat is Phat

The body's most maligned cells are actually critically valuable players

By Caroline Miller,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 7, 2007 10:09 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Fat is underappreciated, New York Times health columnist Natalie Angier writes: just because a lot of people now have too much of it doesn't mean it should be villified. The fat cell is in fact a marvel of science, a sophisticated mechanism finely tailored not only for energy storage but to exchange complex chemical messages.

“We used to think of an adipose cell as an inert storage depot,” one researchers says. “Now we appreciate that it is an endocrine organ,” secreting 20 different hormones. And it's not responsible for obesity. “Obesity is not due to any defect in adipose tissue per se," explained one scientist. "It's an issue of energy balance." Besides, the fact that humans have a relatively high percentage of fat may have played a key role in the evolution of our giant brains.

Microscopic fat cells seen in close up.
Microscopic fat cells seen in close up.   (health.gov)
This undated MRI scan image released by Imperial College, London, provides a detailed look at where fat is stored internally in the human body. The image is of an average-sized man who is 1.9 meters tall, weighs 79 kilograms and has a normal index of 21.7. Internal fat...
This undated MRI scan image released by Imperial College, London, provides a detailed look at where fat is stored internally in the human body. The image is of an average-sized man who is 1.9 meters tall,...   (Associated Press)
Illustrated cross sections of skin showing two examples of fat distribution in subcutaneous tissue; the diagram on the left illustrates the development of cellulite.
Illustrated cross sections of skin showing two examples of fat distribution in subcutaneous tissue; the diagram on the left illustrates the development of cellulite.   (Shutterstock.com)
A triglyceride molecule.
A triglyceride molecule.   (Wikimedia Commons)
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obesity • evolution • health • fat • cells • body

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