Body fat and obesity

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Body fat is the percentage of a person's body mass that is not made up of either bones, muscles, organs or water. It functions as insulation, protection and energy reserve. Increase in the fat percentage may causes blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.

Fat is stored in the fat tissues. While consuming food, one should take extra care to include some fats. For the absorption of certain vitamins, this is extremely essential. Like wise consuming too much fat also creates problem. It paves way for heart diseases.

Fat has an important role in maintaining healthy skin and hair. Insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell functions are some of its functions. In our body, there are two types of fats: saturated and unsaturated.

Saturated fat: It is a straight chain of carbon connected or bonded with two molecules of hydrogen. Saturated fat raises the level of cholesterol in the blood.

Unsaturated fat: It is in the fluid state. In unsaturated fat, carbon atoms are not bonded with two hydrogen atoms like in saturated fat. It reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood.

Glycerol and free fatty acids are released, when fats are broken down in the body. Later glycerol is converted to glucose and used as an energy source. Energy from fatty acid is very useful for many tissues like heart and skeletal muscle.

What is obesity?
Obesity is an excess of body fat that frequently causes significant harm to health. When the size or number of fat cells increases, that results in obesity. A person with normal size has between 30 and 35 billion fat cells. When his weight increases, there is first an increase in the size of these fat cells, and later the number. One pound of body fat is equal to about 3500 calories. Similarly, the size of fat cells decrease when body weight decreases. But, the cell number remains unaffected. However, it is possible to destroy fat cells by certain medications.

Methods to determine obesity
About 5 million fat cells are needed to get 1 ounce of fat. The weight of a single fat cell is very less. It is impractical to count the number of fat cells in a person's body.

Life insurance companies derived a method using tables of desirable weights at various heights, which were based on illness and death rates. Body Mass Index (BMI) is another method. This method correlates with body fat and the metabolic complications of obesity.
BMI = Weight (in kg.) / Height (in meters) Squared (ht. x ht).
For example, a man who is 5' 10"(1.78 meters) tall and weighs 285 lbs.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.