Not all Fat is Bad Fat

Sep 02 2008

Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Looking through a pile of New Scientist magazines form the Spring, I came across an article explaining why not all body fat is equal nor indeed bad.

The worst type of fat is that carried around the internal organs. This visceral fat causes the traditional pot belly and is associated with heart disease and insulin resistance which leads to type 2 diabetes.

However fat carried under the skin on the hips and thighs, known as subcutaneous fat, far from being less bad, now looks as if it may actually be beneficial.

Tests on mice, introducing either visceral or subcutaneous fat, created very different results. Mice receiving subcutaneous fat developed lighter leaner bodies and less insulin resistance than those which received the visceral fat and, more importantly, than those which received no treatment at all.

If humans respond in the same way then it could be the reason why liposuction, which removes such subcutaneous fat, does not seem to reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes or other problems associated with obesity.