Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Summary
On episode 61 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan answers a listener request and breaks down how body fat actually works, from the different types of fat to where you store it and why.
He explains the difference between white and brown adipose tissue, why visceral fat around your organs is more dangerous than subcutaneous fat under your skin, and why eating dietary fat is not what makes you store body fat.
He wraps up with a rundown of how to actually measure body fat, from calipers and bioelectrical impedance to hydrostatic weighing and his preferred method, the DEXA scan.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- There are two types of body fat: white and brown adipose tissue. White adipose tissue is where the body stores energy for future use; brown adipose tissue generates heat and is actually beneficial to have some of.
- Where you store fat matters more than how much you have. Visceral, or abdominal, fat is packed between your organs and is linked to type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, inflammatory disease, and heart disease.
- Subcutaneous fat under the skin is far less dangerous, and some is healthy to carry. The body needs a fat reserve to handle the gap between meals; the goal is keeping it in a healthy range, not eliminating it.
- Menopause shifts where women store fat, raising their cardiovascular risk. As estrogen changes during menopause, fat storage tends to move from the hips toward the belly, the same high-risk pattern men carry their whole lives.
- Dietary fat does not directly become body fat; excess blood sugar does. Insulin converts excess glucose, not fat, into stored fatty acids. That’s why cutting fat out of a food like ice cream doesn’t solve the problem: the sugar is still there, and non-fat versions often have even more sugar added back in.
- Cellulite is fat herniating into the fibrous layer of the skin, not a surface problem creams can fix. Losing overall body fat can smooth it out somewhat, but it may never fully disappear.
- The bathroom scale and bioelectrical impedance devices are unreliable for tracking body fat. Allan has compared his own impedance readings against a DEXA scan and found them consistently far off, so he treats a falling number on those devices as a loose trend at best, not an accurate figure.
- A DEXA scan is Allan’s preferred way to measure body composition. Beyond body fat percentage, it also measures bone density, which is why he gets one at least twice a year; hydrostatic weighing and whole-body air-displacement pods are other legitimate options.
- Allan offers a free guide to help listeners understand and estimate their own body fat. It’s available by signing up for his email list.
“Eating fat and dietary fat does not make you body fat.”
Coach Allan Misner