6BODY FAT
things you didn’t know about…
Change the way you think about your weight with these fascinating fat facts
F
at gets a bad rap, but with 61% of women in the UK now overweight or obese, how much we carry is worth considering. ‘Excess body fat makes us vulnerable to preventable diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and kidney failure,’ says GP and obesity expert Dr Ian Campbell. ‘It also causes mobility problems, back, hip and knee pain, sleep apnoea, and significantly increases the risk of some forms of cancer. On average, an Did you know that there are different types of fat in the body, obese adult will die nine years too soon.’ and some are better for our health than others? Saying that, we do need a certain amount ✱ BROWN FAT ‘Often called “good” fat, it’s found in the upper back of fat for good health, so let’s learn more and neck, and burns calories to generate heat and keep us warm,’ about how it can be a help or a hazard. explains Dr Campbell. ‘Babies have plenty of it and it decreases as we age. Adults who have more brown fat tend to have naturally leaner bodies.’ ✱ WHITE FAT Most of our body is made up of large white cells that are stored under the skin and around organs — especially the belly, arms, buttocks and thighs. It’s not all bad, says Dr Campbell. ‘White fat stores energy and produces the hormones oestrogen, insulin and cortisol, as well as leptin — a hormone that helps to reduce appetite.’ Traditio ✱ VISCERAL FAT When stored around the liver, stomach and intestines, body fat is gauged by BM this ‘bad fat’ causes damage. ‘Visceral fat can build up in the arteries, and (body mass increases the risk of many heart conditions, stroke and type 2 diabetes,’ index), but, explains Yvonne. Dr Campbell says weight loss will target dangerous nutritionist belly fat stores to reduce the health risks significantly. and fitness ✱ SUBCUTANEOUS FAT This is the fat directly under the skin expert — what we can squeeze. ‘It’s a combination of brown, Yvonne Wake* white and beige fat cells,’ says Yvonne. ‘It’s the says, it can be majority of our fat that’s found in the buttocks unreliable. and belly.’ BMI can’t distinguish bet fat and muscle visceral fat. The most accurate way to calculate it is with a DEXA scan – a dual energy X-ray that’s used to measure bone density. Yvonne shares her secrets to long-term fat loss… ‘Skin callipers are another good ✱ A strength-training programme, such as HIIT workouts way to estimate subcutaneous ✱ Do aerobic exercise such as running, walking or bicycling body fat,’ says Yvonne. ‘Also, look ✱ Improve your sleep out for machines in gyms and ✱ Add apple cider vinegar to your diet — it can aid weight loss clinics that can measure fat, ✱ Eat healthy fats, such as olive oil rather than butter skeletal, muscle and water mass, ✱ Quit drinking sugary drinks so will give an exact fat weight.’ ✱ Eat plenty of fibre, and cut down on refined carbohydrates ✱ Follow a high-protein diet that includes seafood, eggs, legumes, meat and chicken. This will reduce the appetite and burn more fat. Studies have associated this with a lower risk of belly fat.
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Not all fat is equal
WORDS: ALI HORSFALL. PHOTOS: GETTY. *WELLBEINGANDLIFESTYLE. CO.UK. IF YOU HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH, SEE YOUR GP
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BMI is not always best
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The fat-burning formula
