SUBCUTANEOUS AND INTRA-ABDOMINAL FAT STORES
Fat cells exist in all parts of the body with four exceptions: the eyelids, parts of the oesophagus, the brain and the penis. The main location of concern to the weight watcher is subcutaneous fat, which is stored below the lower surface (dermis) of the skin. This gives skin its ’rounded’ or cushioned feeling when pinched.
On some parts of the body subcutaneous fat is thicker, and fat cells more numerous, than on others. The abdomen, as we’ve seen, is a site of greater adipocyte size and numbers in men; the buttocks and gluteal region more so in women. Women also tend to store more fat around the triceps than men, and this area is harder to pinch using traditional skin fold measures, in some women. The female breasts are almost entirely composed of fat and connective tissue, the former serving as an extra energy reserve during pregnancy and lactation. The extra energy requirements of breast-feeding have been estimated at between 300—400 kcal per day.
Harvard University’s Dr Rose Frisch, who is an expert in female body composition and fat stores, claims that subcutaneous fat stores in the hips and buttocks, as well as the breasts, also help to augment food supplies during pregnancy. Says Frisch: The main function of the 16kg of stored female fat, which is equivalent to 600MJ [about 140 000 kcal], may be to provide energy for pregnancy and for about 3 months lactation’. Intra-abdominal fat stores on the other hand may be less functional and may interfere with liver function leading to different disease risks.
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