Has it ever come through your mind wondering how many types of fat are inside your body?
How different is each one from another? Where are they distributed in our bodies?
Which fat is distributed in the human body and how do our bodies use them?
I’m sure there are many unanswered questions related to our body fats.
We’ll find out more.
What Are The Actual Purpose of Body Fats?
The question is why do our bodies need these fats? What are they here for?
Good that you asked these questions.
Fats have many different functions for the human body and also your diet.
1. Energy storage. Wondering where all the excess energy from the food goes inside your body? In reality, it is turned into fat or adipose tissue.
Fats compared to carbohydrates and lipids (which mainly produce the energy for the human body in form of glycogen), have a larger quantity reserve and long time storage of energy.
2. Signal and regulate. Fat has many important functions in regard to regulating hormones.
For example, Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are vital to helping to prevent blood clotting, controlling inflammation in the bloodstream and tissues, and regulating cholesterol. Fat helps the body to produce Leptin hormones in regulating appetite and monitoring energy status.
3. Protecting. Some of these fats have a larger percentage of body weight amount in some individuals, especially obese people. Fat such as visceral fat helps to protect your vital organs such as the kidneys, liver, and heart.
Meanwhile, the blanket layer or subcutaneous fat acts as an insulator to protect the body from extreme climates and ensure the inside temperature is under control. We will learn more in detail about these two fats below.
4. Appetite and hunger satisfaction. The dissolved compounds in fat tissues do add great aromas and flavors in preparing delicious foods. It gives you a sense of appetite.
Do you also agree that fats are slower to get absorbed and digested compared to other macronutrients?
This is why when a person is consuming fatty food, they are feeling full because as the food enters the digestive tract, the body controls the movement of food and slows down the digestion and absorption process which gives more time for fats to get digested and absorbed.
As a result, this promotes a sense of fullness at this stage.
These 5 Fat Are Distributed In A Human Body
These are the 5 most common body fats in the human body with each having its own function and location.
1. Visceral fat is located between organs in the abdominal area and helps in producing and discharging a type of protein 4 that causes insulin resistance.
As we age, visceral fat is considered bad fat because the high level of these fats can lead to certain types of cancer, stroke, atherosclerosis, and dementia. This fat can increase the size of your waistline if you don’t take care of your diet.
You can revamp towards a healthier lifestyle such as improving your diet with NO processed food or fatty foods. Eat more green leafy, fruits, whole grains, or lean proteins instead!
Besides, get enough sleep of at least seven hours and focus on your abdominal strength workout routine to burn more calories that help in melting away visceral fat.
2. Consisting of about 90 percent of total body fat percentage, subcutaneous fat is located below your skin and is responsible for the sex hormone called estrogen which also play important role in female fertility.
Not only that but this fat is also important for heat insulation by regulating the body’s internal temperature.
Subcutaneous fat is good and bad fats that function as cushion protection between skin and muscle tissues. Although this fat is essential in the body but having too much can also lead to health complications.
Adopting a healthier diet with low-carb food, reducing calorie intake, and regular exercise at home can help to shrink this stubborn fat.
3. Beige fat is ‘pea-sized’ good fat cells found scattered just below the skin mainly along the spine and near the collarbone.
Fat is created when the human body is experiencing stress, leading to the transformation (beiging) of white fat cells to useful thermal energy.
This is why beige fat is a good target for weight loss in many high-intensity exercises such as HIIT because vigorous workouts can trigger more production of hormone irisin needed for the ‘beiging’ of white fat cells.
4. Being the largest energy storage in the body, white fat cells are producers of the hormone leptin useful for signaling and regulating hunger. With the production of the hormone adiponectin, white fat is also very essential in maintaining healthy blood glucose levels through insulin management.
These fat cells are usually found in connective tissues and are located beneath the subcutaneous fat and, within the visceral fat in the abdominal area.
Although it has many health benefits, having an excess of this fat can also be a bad thing. Stubborn excess white cells can cause insulin resistance resulting in weight gain and diabetes problems.
If you have excess fat on the abdomen, hips, or thighs, it should be a sign of excess white fat cells. Doing exercises focusing on building muscle tissues can help reduce white fat cells in the body by burning more calories.
5. Brown fat is good fat but not included as storage fat. Like subcutaneous fat, brown fat is mainly responsible for maintaining your body’s overall temperature by breaking down the fat molecules and blood sugar.
Brown fat cells are easier to burn than other types of body fats, especially in winter climates. Mostly can be found surrounding the lower neck or above the collarbone of an adult.
What Are The Health Risks of Body Fats?
Knowing and understanding the potentially high health risks associated with being overweight or obese are important to prevent more serious health complications at a later stage.
Individuals with BMI over 30 are considered obese and can put a lot of stress on their bodies. They are prone to having shortness of breath even with the slightest activity. Their hips and joints are easily exposed to osteoarthritis due to their bodies supporting and moving extra weight now.
Besides, having excess weight can lead to type-2 diabetes because the body may produce lesser insulin hormones which are crucial in regulating blood sugar levels in the body. This will also result in developing insulin resistance.
Not to mention, heart-related issues associated with excess weight such as coronary disease, strokes, and high cholesterol are getting more common nowadays attacking obese people.
What Is The Difference Between Cellulite and Fat?
They may look the same under the microscope but it is better to understand the differences between cellulite and fat.
Our body in general consists of two types of fats – predominantly white fat cells and a few smaller brown fat cells.
During the pregnancy and development of a fetus, fat cells are created and, again during puberty. After the puberty stage, fat cells will not multiply their size and are stored inside the body as excess fat. Instead, they may eventually become bigger.
In normal conditions, the body shape inheritance will dictate where the fat cells are distributed widely over the body surface.
Cellulite is located below the surface of your skin and is formed during the interaction of connective tissue and fat cells. Everyone can develop cellulite as we age and our skin is slowly getting thinner, we are most likely can notice cellulite conditions in our skin.
Cellulite formation is more of a genetic or inherited condition. In some women with low body weight, the cellulite conditions are still visible, especially on the thighs, hips, or abdomens.
Noting that cellulite can also be developed from excess fat storage and is widely spread over the body due to poor healthy lifestyles, especially among obese people.
How Do You Calculate Your Body Fat Percentage?
Discover your estimated current body fat percentage in order to determine how much weight you need for a healthy amount of body fat.
Try to calculate the percentage of your body fat with the BMI (body mass index) method using regression equations, taking age and gender into consideration. It gives you a ballpark figure only.
US Navy Body Circumference measurement measures height, weight, age, neck, waist, and, in the case of women, hips too. All you need is a calculator and a measuring tape.
Skinfold measurement measures the thickness of your skin or subcutaneous fat beneath your skin. This method is more accurate if combined with US navy circumference and weight measurements. It can predict your body fat percentages of about 3.5 percent of your actual body composition.
How can you categorize your body fat percentage?
As per the American Council of Exercise (ACE), the body fat percentages for men and women are different. They are divided into a few categories as below:
1. Essential fat: (Women 10-12%); (Men 2-4%)
2. Athletes: (Women 14-20%); (Men 6-13%)
3. Fitness fat: (Women 21-24%); (Men 14-17%)
4. Acceptable: (Women 25-31%); (Men 18-25%)
5. OBESE: (Women 32% plus); (Men 25% plus)
From here, you can either adjust your current exercise routine or speak with your personal trainer or healthcare experts.
My Overall Verdicts: These 5 Fat Are Distributed In A Human Body
Knowing and understanding the function of types of our bodies’ fats is essential to maintaining a healthier balanced lifestyle.
They are vital to protect your internal organs against any possible injury or trauma, and extremely cold weather. These fat cells also help to keep your internal organs stable inside the body.
Your body’s fats are a great source of energy storage. This is especially useful when you are doing intense workouts which needed more fat storage to produce energy so you can work out for a longer time.
Go ahead and measure your current body fat percentage to know where your health stands now. Then, you can adjust or amend your lifestyle to a more healthier and productive one.
Please leave me a comment below if you have and I will rush back within 24 hours.
As always, to your another fantastic Home Workout success!
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