All About Fat
The busy, useful, much-misunderstood tissue you carry everywhere.
6 minute read
Fat is body tissue, not a character trait. Nothing in this book is a reason to like yourself less.
Page 1
Fat is an organ with a job
Adipose tissue — fat — is not spare luggage. It is living tissue laced with blood vessels and nerves that stores energy, cushions organs, insulates you, and helps you stay warm.
It also acts like a gland. Fat cells release hormones such as leptin, which tells your brain roughly how much stored energy is around, and adiponectin, which helps your body handle sugar.
Page 2
Cells that stretch, not multiply
Most adults keep a fairly stable number of fat cells. When you store more energy, existing cells swell; when you use energy, they shrink. The cells largely stay put.
That's one reason bodies often drift back toward a familiar size: the cells are still there, and the brain defends a range it has learned to expect. This is biology doing its job, not willpower failing.
Page 3
Where fat sits, and why it varies
Subcutaneous fat lives just under the skin. Visceral fat sits deeper, around the organs. Genetics, hormones, age, sleep, medication and stress all influence the mix and the map.
Two people can eat and move almost identically and store fat in completely different places. Your distribution is inherited far more than it is chosen.
Painting page: A cluster of cheerful fat cells
Tap a colour, tap a shape. There's no correct version.
Paint box
Pick a colour, then tap any shape. Your painting saves itself.