Mega Red Packet

by Dr C.S. Foo Men turn into apples and women become pears. The twin factors of sedentary lifestyle and one meal too many lead to an expanding waistline, facilitated by male hormones. Females put on weight around the hips, buttocks and thighs. Interestingly, when the ovarian door closes in menopause, the distribution of fat becomes concentrated in the abdomen, once again auguring well for sexual equality. The body mass index (BMI) is popularly used to gauge obesity, but one can have normal BMI and yet carry unseen excess fat. Why all this fuss about fats? Obesity is obviously linked to a host of maladies but it is the dangers of hidden fat that needs to be urgently unmasked. Fat Cells There are an estimated 40 billion fat cells (adipocytes) in the adult body, soaring to thrice that level in some cases. Each fat cell contains essentially a large droplet of fat, much like a balloon filled with liquid. It was thought that fat (adipose tissue) is merely a passive sto...

You may have noticed that many people above thirty starts to develop a 'beer belly'. As visceral and subcutaneous fat starts to build up, most people do not realize the danger signs that their health is at risk. What is Visceral Fat? Visceral Fat refers to the fats that surrounds our vital organs and is located in the stomach area. It is not the fat that lies under your skin though. That is called subcutaneous fat. Visceral Fat is deeper within. Studies have shown that the more visceral fat you carry in your body, the higher your body develops insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes. High visceral fats also makes a person more prone to stroke, heart diseases and hypertension. Although visceral fat is easier to lose as compared to subcutaneous fat, most people pay no attention to it because they do not understand the dangers of how visceral fat can affect their health as it is hidden and not visible. They usually pay more attention to subcutaneou...