The lard works in mysterious ways- Anton Parker

Fat as an active system

So, our body fat deposits evolved as an energy store for tucking away excess calories for later use and helped our mammalian ancestors survive seasonal food shortages.

This makes perfect sense; after all the ability to avoid starvation is a real evolutionary advantage. However, in westernised societies where life is sedentary and food is always available, there is now an obesity epidemic which is crippling the population and healthcare systems. But why? And how?

We all know that the wrong kinds of dietary fat give you high cholesterol, heart disease and strokes but why does a high BMI massively increase your risk of diabetes and cancer?

The fascinating answer that is emerging is that far from being just an energy store, our body fat is a fully functioning endocrine organ, secreting factors that can suppress insulin activity and drive aggressive growth of tumours.

The question that remains to be answered is whether it is simply a case of having too much normally functioning fat or whether in obesity, the fat ‘goes bad’.

As with all research, it is difficult to tease apart the confounding factors. In this case, how much of the effect is directly attributable to the fat itself and how much is from the lifestyle that leads to obesity.

After all, there is also a strong link between cancer incidence/prognosis and exercise… But that is another story.

Further Reading

• http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/528575

 Anton Parker: Healthcare Scientist, Molecular Biology Department, Royal Bournemouth Hospital.