A high fat diet can lead to an excess of storage fat, making you overweight or even obese. If you regularly eat foods that are high in fat then you are putting your health at risk. There’s no question that obesity is becoming a big problem in the UK. With over half of the UK population now classed as being overweight or obese, the number of related health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure is also growing, which can lead to reduced life expectancy and increased pressure on the NHS.
The survey found that men are more likely than women to be overweight or obese (68.2% of men, 60.4% of women). People aged 45-74 are most likely to be overweight or obese.
How Much Fat?
The human body stores about 9000 grams of fat. This provides enough energy for a person to walk continuously for 11 days or to run continuously for 4 days. What makes this even more bizarre is the fact that the low-fat-food industry is booming, as are sales of exercise machinery. Books on health and well-being top the number-one best-seller lists around the world, yet many people are still dangerously overweight and becoming ever more unfit and unhealthier.
Fat Storage In Men and Women
Men tend to store fat on their abdominal region, whereas women predominantly store fat on their hips and thighs. Fat can also be stored on the stomach, back of the arms and back. Although there are many theories behind this, it all boils down to genetics and hormones. It is thought that in hunter-gatherer times when men would go out on long journeys in search of food, a little abdominal fat provided extra energy for these long journeys.
These hunters. Survived better than their thinner, leaner cohorts, and hence this genetic trait has been passed down from generation to generation. Men produce testosterone, which promotes the storage of fat on the stomach or central trunk region. However, this fat can be removed quite easily.
Storage of fat in the stomach region and a diet high fat increase the risk of:
- Lower-back pain, joint pain
- Shortness of breath
- High blood pressure
- Excessive, blood cholesterol (hyperlipidaemia)
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Colon cancer
The female body produces oestrogen, which promotes the storage of fat on the hips, thighs and buttocks. For women it was found that in times of famine, those who possessed a larger amount of fat on their hips and thighs survived. Hence this genetic blueprint has been passed down to the women of today. The storage of fat on the hips and thighs is essential and protective during pregnancy, as it ensures a long-term supply of energy. Unlike the fat on the stomach, this fat is hard to burn off.
Cellulite
The dimpling of the skin on the thighs and buttocks is commonly referred to as cellulite. Cellulite afflicts women more frequently than men. Although many therapies presume that cellulite is caused by abnormal fat or fat that contains toxins, the basic development of cellulite has not yet been clearly established. Cellulite is just fat that has moved out of its fat cell.
Tissue can grow over these fatty areas, and when pulled tight it can give a lumpy appearance. It seems that moving fat from the lower part of the body is more difficult than moving it from the upper body.
This may be due to the fact that women are genetically and/or hormonally predisposed to storing fat on their legs and buttocks. It seems, however, that the fat itself is no different from any other fat, so with a solid exercise program and a sensible eating pattern cellulite can be mobilized and used as fuel just as fat anywhere else. Interestingly, people who crash diet and lose weight too quickly still retain cellulite around their bodies.
There are no miracle cures or creams that will rid your body of cellulite. Firming lotions, hot spas, cellulite creams or deep tissue massage do nothing to decrease the body’s amount of cellulite. The secret to cellulite mobilization is knowing how to correctly burn fat as a fuel during exercise.
The False Promises of Fat Busters
- Deep-tissue massage that rubs out cellulite
- Pineapples that help burn cellulite
- Plastic wraps that make cellulite float to the surface of the skin
- Special creams that can be rubbed into the skin to burn cellulite
- Fat-burning tablets
- Amino acid powders that burn fat and cellulite
