This is true of any type of food - even "healthy" food. But it's especially true of foods that are high in sugars , refined carbohydrates, trans fats , and other empty calories. These foods not only pack a lot of calories but they also affect metabolism and appetite in ways that can promote weight gain. But, under normal circumstances i. Which is why you also have to restrain your intake for several weeks to lose a significant amount of body fat.
Here's the bottom line: If you are eating well almost every day, a single indulgence is unlikely to have any significant impact on your body fat percentage. As I've said before, it's not your best day or your worst day but how you eat most days that determines your overall health. Together these factors can lead to excess curvature of the lower spine lumbar area and pain as the individual works to maintain an upright position. Incidentally, a potbelly--even a huge one--normally does not show the outlines of the bloated fat cells cellulite because abdominal skin is generally thicker and less taut than that covering the pelvis, buttocks and thighs.
Body fat is, of course, necessary for life. Besides being a source of energy, it is a storage site for some vitamins, a major ingredient in brain tissue, and a structural component of all cell membranes. Moreover, it provides a padding to protect internal organs and insulates the body against the cold.
But as we age, most of us tend to gain fat and weight--about 10 percent of our body weight per decade during adulthood. This stems partly from a steady decline in metabolic rate, but mostly from a decrease in physical activity. Still, getting too fat more than 30 percent body fat in females and 25 percent in males is associated with increased risk of disease and premature death, regardless of where the fat is stored in the body. As a society, we are severely stressing the scales to the point that obesity is now a national health epidemic.
Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science. Answer orginally posted on September 23, This calorie storage is known as glycogen. Once the glycogen calories are utilized for energy, the body then activates stored calories within fat cells, known as triglycerides, to replenish the depletion of glycogen calories.
Aerobic activity enhances the body's ability to deplete stored fat cells through enhanced oxygen delivery throughout the body and increased release of fatty acids into muscle tissue, which results in fat stores being more readily available to be burned. Aerobic activities are defined by the Georgia State University Department of Kinesiology and Health as any activity that actively engages muscle groups and causes an increase in heart rate and breathing.
Examples of aerobic activities include jogging, jumping rope, swimming, stair-climbing and bicycling. The American Heart Association suggests healthy adults should perform a minimum of minutes of moderately-intense aerobic exercise per week, with a single exercise session lasting at least 10 minutes.
Along with aerobic exercises, strength training is vital to maintain calorie burning. Turns out, there are certain places where having excess fat could be problematic. And there are other places where it might not be that big of a deal. How can you tell the difference? You have plenty of say over your total amount of body fat.
As for where that fat tends to show up? That can be a little harder to manage. Most people tend to accumulate fat either in their midsection or in their hips and thighs. But your genes, sex, age, and hormones could affect how much fat you have and where it goes. Believe it or not, there are three. Not only does each one have a different function. Subcutaneous fat is basically stored energy.
Small amounts of it can be more helpful than you think.
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