Question to the expert: Why do we need fat inside us
margarita virova
Answers to most questions that concern us we are all used to searching online. In this series of materials we ask exactly such questions - burning, unexpected or common - to professionals in various fields.
The study of fat and its functions is an important medical trend of recent times. Another 25-30 years ago, fat was considered a passive tissue, which simply stores energy, but in the early nineties there were scientific papers that proved that adipose tissue is the most important endocrine organ. And of course, this caused an avalanche of new research: pathophysiologists, biologists and endocrinologists from around the world began to study what fat is and how it affects the work of the neuroendocrine system. Interest in the topic was fueled by the fact that, according to the UN, up to a third of the world's population suffers from varying degrees of obesity. All these people are at risk and for the diseases that obesity can provoke, which means that it is important to know as much as possible about the effect of adipose tissue on the development of any pathologies.
Irina Vyatkina
Candidate of Medical Sciences, endocrinologist of the clinic Marina Ryabus
Adipose tissue is a type of connective tissue; it consists of fat cells, or adipocytes, which accumulate energy and secrete various substances, including hormones. This means that adipose tissue performs a lot of tasks in our body and in many respects thanks to it it functions as it should. The main function of fat is energy. Triglycerides, components of adipose tissue, produce a tremendous amount of energy when splitting: twice as much as carbohydrates. In the body of an average adult about fifteen kilograms of adipose tissue, or about 110 thousand calories. This reserve is enough to live for two months, burning 2 thousand kilocalories a day.
Another function of fat is insulating. Everything is clear here: the fat layer helps us not to lose too much heat at low temperatures. That is why the representatives of the northern peoples have a fatty layer on average thicker than the southern ones. The next fat function is the reference. This means that all our organs, such as the heart and even large vessels, are partially or completely surrounded by adipose tissue. This, on the one hand, helps to fix the organs in the "right" places, and on the other - protects them from damage if we hit or someone attacks us. On this with all the obvious functions, go to the more subtle matters.
An important function of adipose tissue is regulatory. Fat cells are involved in blood formation: they are part of the bone marrow, form the microenvironment of red blood cells, leukocytes and platelets and provide them with nutrients while they develop. Another function that I would like to say separately is immune. In the cells of our immune system, there are receptors that “read” the structures of dangerous microbes - in response, the system produces protective components, including cytokines and chemokines, which direct the process of fighting the infection. Several years ago, the same receptors were found in fat cells.
Another non-obvious function of fat is the deposit: fatty tissue accumulates not only energy, but also some fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), and also serves as a major depot of steroid hormones, especially estrogens. In addition, it contains a supply of water (yes, not only camels, but also people), which means that a shortage of adipose tissue will immediately lead, for example, to dehydration and skin aging.
Both the lack of adipose tissue and its excess are equally dangerous for the body.
Now we finally come to the most interesting function of fat - endocrine. As I have already said, modern science regards adipose tissue as a separate peripheral endocrine organ. In women, it is, among other things, a source of an enzyme called aromatase, thanks to which our body synthesizes estrogens from androgens (I think it’s unnecessary to talk about estrogens to the female body). And adipocytes of adipose tissue produce leptin, it is necessary for puberty and to maintain reproductive function. By the way, in patients with amenorrhea, that is, lack of menstruation, because of too much physical exertion, the level of leptin falls, and its secretion is disturbed. And in normal women, the level of serum leptin is 40% higher than that of men.
Without adipose tissue, our body simply will not work: it is responsible for reproductive function and puberty, for immunity and blood formation, it serves as a fuel for the main metabolic processes, protects us from mechanical damage and hypothermia. Does this mean that the more fatty tissue in the body, the better? Of course not. And the lack of adipose tissue, and its excess is equally dangerous to the body. There are studies showing a direct relationship between the imbalance of adipose tissue in any direction and the decrease in life expectancy, so the percentage of adipose tissue in the body and how it is distributed is very important to follow.
It should be understood that the rate of fat content in the male and female body is different: women should have 5-10% more fat. In the properties of adipose tissue and how it is distributed, there are also differences. First, in men fat is more dense, and in women - loose, therefore cellulite is more common in them (strictly speaking, it can be considered a secondary sexual sign in general). Secondly, in men, adipose tissue is distributed more or less evenly throughout the body, and in women it is deposited in the mammary glands, in the pelvic and thigh areas. In case of violations, adipose tissue may begin to be deposited in characteristic places, for example, on the anterior abdominal wall. It is this variant of obesity that doctors consider the most dangerous: it is directly related to the development of diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension, some malignant tumors, myocardial infarction, stroke and a great many other pathologies.
Another extremely unfavorable type of obesity is abdominal-visceral, that is, when fatty tissue is deposited around the internal organs and disrupts their work. Both of these types are found in women who gain weight with age. With the advent of menopause, the body begins to produce less sex hormones in the ovaries. In order to somehow compensate for the lack of estrogens, adipose tissue is taken for their enhanced production - and immediately begins to grow under their influence, that is, we find ourselves in a vicious circle. And the problem here is not only in obesity, but also in the fact that estrogens, which are produced by the adipose tissue in perimenopause, can trigger pathological processes in the tissues, such as endometrial hyperplasia or breast cancer.
The more stable the weight, the better for the skin, back, joints and the whole body.
With age, metabolic processes slow down. This means that a number of enzymes are still being produced in our country, but they are no longer consumed in the same amount. The easiest way to spend them is to digest food, and the body commands "increase your appetite." As a result, the woman begins to recover, but often does not notice that she began to eat more. The same danger, by the way, also lurks those who begin to drink hormonal contraceptives: any change in the hormonal background temporarily affects the appetite, so in the first months of COC use, it is better to monitor the amount of food eaten. Of course, you will not recover from the pills themselves - this is a myth. But you can look at the food with different eyes - this is reality. Weight gain in menopause or against the background of the reception of GK - this is not the norm, even if you are far from obesity. The more stable the weight, the better for your skin, back, joints and the whole body.
Determining the optimal balance of adipose tissue in the body is not so easy. Previously, the calculation of BMI, that is, body mass index, was almost the only way, but this method has a lot of drawbacks. First, it does not take into account neither the age nor the sex of a person, although, logically, the BMI should be higher in men than in women, and the BMI in young people should be higher than in the elderly. In addition, the average BMI does not depend on the country, and if, for example, the indicators recommended by WHO are applied in Russia, then more than half of the population suffers from excess weight. In addition, the formula for calculating the BMI is completely unsuitable for people who are seriously involved in sports. There are a lot of sports, the requirements for athletes are completely different, and they rarely fit into the average: BMI of artistic gymnasts, for example, is close to marked deficit, and BMI of weightlifters is obese, and both are completely healthy. Therefore, any calculation of the optimal weight and percentage of adipose tissue in professional athletes is an individual and empirical question.
One of the most reliable ways to understand the optimal balance of adipose tissue in the body today is the bio-impedancemetry method, which is based on the bioelectric resistance of tissues. With it, we can find out not only the percentage of adipose tissue, but also how it is distributed. This is important for the early diagnosis of endocrine disorders, which are characterized by an excess of fat deposits in certain areas. This study is quite simple, and it is done in a number of clinics. In addition, another method of studying the balance and distribution of fat using a three-dimensional scanner or computed tomography has recently been described. The indicator that it measures is called BVI (that is, Body Volume Index, or Body Volume Index).
But even without a three-dimensional scanner, with the availability of equipment for bioimpedancemetry, you can accurately determine the optimal balance of fat in the body. In addition, there are formulas for the thickness of the fat fold, the ratio of the circumference and the line of the pelvis, waist and height, waist and arm, waist and legs. In the complex, this allows you to make accurate and, most importantly, individual calculations. Although here it is necessary to make a reservation that the feelings of the patient himself play an important role. For example, if according to all calculations the optimal weight of a person is 60 kg, and he feels better at 54, and tests confirm that he is healthy, it’s not a fact that he should gain weight.
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