Not sure if this is clear. Our bodies are supposed to replace all the cells every 7 or so years. Does that mean the fat too? Or when someone loses 20 year weight, are you getting rid of 20 year old fat?

  • zlatiah@lemmy.world
    10·
    5 days ago

    From what I remember from nutrition science research… our body fat are literally living, breathing cells. As in, fat cells which specialize into fat storage, which can grow/shrink, and are in fact very metabolically active. So not only do they get replaced over time, they are biologically quite relevant and probably more “active” than, say, the nearby muscle cells

    Wikipedia does have a page for adipocytes, not sure how up-to-date it is but it explains better than I could. Beware that it is quite technical

    • pelespirit@sh.itjust.worksOP
      11·
      5 days ago

      Wow, this is something that hasn’t been said. I wonder if this is still current.

      An average human adult has 30 billion fat cells with a weight of 30 lbs or 13.5 kg. If a child or adolescent gains sufficient excess weight, fat cells may increase in absolute number until age twenty-four.[3] If an adult (who never was obese as a child or adolescent) gains excess weight, fat cells generally increase in size, not number, though there is some inconclusive evidence suggesting that the number of fat cells might also increase if the existing fat cells become large enough (as in particularly severe levels of obesity).

      Edit: Also, this explains why some people have it easier and harder

      People who have been fat since childhood generally have an inflated number of fat cells. People who become fat as adults may have no more fat cells than their lean peers, but their fat cells are larger. In general, people with an excess of fat cells find it harder to lose weight and keep it off than the obese who simply have enlarged fat cells.[3]