What it is:
There are two main types of fat within the human body.
White adipose tissue (WAT) is a yellow substance with a simple cellular structure. However, it is an efficient energy storage system and an incredibly complex endocrine organ that secretes hormones and bioactive molecules known as adipokines. A healthy amount of fat is vital as it cushions our organs and insulates body heat.
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is not as prevalent as WAT, but it has unique metabolic activity due to its high concentration of mitochondria and its own blood supply.
Brown fat is stimulated by the thermic effect of food (by eating), cold exposure (plunge pools), and physical activity.
It exists in the neck, clavicle, and between the shoulder blades.
Higher amounts exist in newborns and athletes.
Purported claims:
Fat is healthy in the right amounts
Fat loss is not the same as weight loss
Fat releases environmental toxins
What the science says:
The number of fat cells in the body, also known as adipocytes, tends to remain relatively constant after adolescence. Weight loss primarily involves reducing the size of these fat cells, not decreasing their actual number.
Essential fat exists in small amounts within our bone marrow, nervous system, heart, lungs, liver, and other areas. It accounts for around 3% in men and 12% in women (Krause, 2017). If a person goes below these essential percentages long-term, they will see adverse health effects from heart issues, absence of menstruation, weak muscles, and many other health issues.
Healthy body composition guidelines differ depending on sex, age, and genetics. Females tend to have a healthy, higher body fat percentage due to differences in hormones and essential fat storage, such as in the breasts, pelvis, and thighs. Extreme athletes, such as bodybuilders, will dip in and out of their essential body fat percentages, around 2-5% for men and 10%-13% for women (Krause, 2017). A healthy total body fat range is 18-24% in men and 25-31% in women (Krause, 2017). These ranges allow for the essential and storage fat amounts to be in healthy quantities for ever-changing circumstances in health, injury, illness, growth, food availability, and physical exertion. We can't emphasize enough how important fat is to your cognitive health and long-term well-being.
Losing weight and losing fat are distinct processes. Our body weight doesn't represent our body composition. Losing weight is never a linear curve as our bodies fluctuate due to a multitude of reasons. Quick weight loss or gain is generally due to:
Glycogen - The storage form of carbs in our muscles that can expand 3-4 times its weight in water.
This is also why the ketogenic diet can have immediate weight loss results, as it depletes these stores and creates the illusion of weight loss.
Hydration levels
Dehydration is another misleading factor in weight, as we can fluctuate depending on our hydration levels.
Sodium - Excess salt causes water retention in order to balance electrolytes.
Stress - Cortisol causes water retention (hormonal fluctuations) and can mask fat loss. To negate this, try adding in rest days and high-quality sleep habits. Factors that increase cortisol levels include:
Dieting and exercise - Large calorie deficits and extreme (cardio) exercise can cause erratic weight fluctuations.
Lack of sleep
Emotional stressors
Injuries and Illness
Menstruation - Water retention, cravings, and pain can cause anomalies in health routines, therefore leading to temporary weight gain.
When restricting calories, the body will inevitably borrow from all parts of the interconnected tissues, from muscle to bone to fat. If you're performing an ultra-low-calorie diet or incorrectly implementing diets like Ketogenic, you can lose lean muscle mass rather than fat. Preserving muscle during fat loss is crucial as it is metabolically active and can prevent fat regain. When any mass loss occurs, especially muscle, the body requires fewer calories to maintain its system. This plateauing effect can be incredibly frustrating. Gradually lowering your body fat and gaining lean muscle mass will assist in weight loss, increase caloric burn, and prevent extreme stress on the physical and mental process of recompositioning the body.
When fat is released from storage, the compounds held within these adipocyte cells are also freed (Merrill, 2012). Concerns surrounding the chemicals in our environments extend to our fat cells as they are susceptible to storing harmful chemicals, such as pesticides, detergents, preservatives, mycotoxins from molds, acrylamide, and many other environmental pollutants. Although this system protects our other organs, losing fat releases these chemicals back into our circulation. Precautions such as implementing a detox, consuming a high phytonutrient diet, and including an Enterohepatic Recirculation plan may help deal with the bombardment.
Our take:
Fat is fantastic. It’s a multidimensional energy reserve and insulator with its hand in every part of our cells, from cell membranes to hormones. As with anything, fat in excess is detrimental, but in the right quantities, it ensures our long-term cognition and health. Optimizing your body fat percentage is a long-term commitment that will aid your physiological functions now and in the future.
Will this benefit you?
Yes. Without a doubt, having optimal fat reserves will benefit your performance, recovery, resistance to illness, and many other factors.
Still curious to try it? If you do, here’s what to keep an eye on:
When testing body fat percentage, it's important to be cautious of several factors that can affect the accuracy and reliability of the measurements. Apeiron Life offers the gold standard of DEXA scans run by our elite team of health professionals. Speak with your Client Advocate today to optimize your body fat.
References and additional reading:
Mahan, L K, and Raymond, J L. Krause's Food & the Nutrition Care Process. Elsevier Inc, 2017. Print.
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