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What Is a Fat Cell?

Fat cells---or---"adipocytes" are the cells that make up the adipose tissue. These cells are used by the body to synthesize and store calorie surplus that the body does not make use of for energy. White adipose tissue and brown adipose tissue---also termed as white fat and brown fat---are the chief components of adipose tissue.

  1. White Fat Cells

    • White adipose tissue makes up around 20 percent of the body mass in men and 25 percent of the body mass in women. Fat stored in this tissue comes from excess food that is synthesized in the body. It behaves as a fuel reserve in times of hunger, aids in conserving body heat, and produces pads amid organs. White adipose tissue also performs as a thermal insulator to maintain body temperature.

    Brown Fat Cells

    • Unlike white cells, brown fat cells---labeled because of the unusually high number of dark-colored mitochondria---burn calories rather than store them. The main goal of brown fat cells is to control body temperature; the mitochondria-packed cells are intended to burn massive amounts of sugar and discharge that energy as heat.

    About Fat Cells

    • A gram of fat cells has roughly 900 calories. A person of standard weight has generally 20 to 35 billion fat cells, but these figures may increase especially if an individual is overweight. A person can reduce the fat cells in size through a healthy diet and by keeping fit, but many will permanently be in the body ready to enlarge again if necessary.

    Accumulation

    • Fat cells accumulate differently in men and women. Commonly, men's fat cells stock up in the upper body, while women's fat cells are amassed in the lower body; hence, the "pear and apple" shape figures that have been coined for men and women. Although this changes as people age, the function of these cells remain; if an individual eats more than is burned, it is transformed into fat and stored in the fat cells. So, it is ideal to eat only the food that needs to be utilized.

    Disease

    • According to the National Center for Health Statistics, about 59 million American adults are considered obese. Studies revealed that some health risks go hand in hand with obesity. High blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and osteoarthritis are some of the ailments that hound people deemed to be obese. Because of this, health experts encourage people to change their eating lifestyle to improve the body's condition and future health.

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