I teach a class in gross anatomy that includes a cadaver dissection. When we go through the various muscles, nerves, arteries and organs I always try to talk about the diseases that relate to these areas. One thing I have been pointing out is the type of fat we see.

Fat used to be thought of as an inert substance. Eat too many calories--the excees is stored as fat. Fat was the quintessential storage medium for calories. But not anymore. Fat is now seen as a dynamic substance producing hormones that help to regulate insulin and hunger. Not only is fat dynamic, but there are 2 kinds of fat. I typically call these 2 types of fat "good" and "bad." Using the scientific lexicon we could also say "subcutaneous" and "visceral."

So which is good and which is bad? Well, it turns out the the jiggly fat known as subcutaneous fat is actually better for your health than the deep visceral fat. This is not to say that any significant amount of fat is good but the subcutaneous fat is less harmful.

To test whether it is the type of fat or the location that is important a research team lead by C. Ronald Kahn, M.D at the Joslin Diabetes Center implanted both types of fat cells in different parts of the body (in mice).

When subcutaneous fat was transplanted into the abdominal area there were positive effects such as weight loss and improved insulin levels. However when abdominal fat was transplanted into the subcutaneous area there was no difference.

So what is the difference between good and bad fat? It may be that good fat secretes hormone-like substances called adipokines that help to increase metablolism. Future research may reveal ways in which medications can manipulate these substances to improve fat metabolism.

It is also interesting that studies have found that liposuction (which decreases subcutaneous fat) has no effect on metabolic syndrome, probably because liposuction does not affect the visceral fat.

How do you determine if you have more good fat than bad? Well one way is by identifying your shape. If you are round in the middle like and apple or have a "tight" beer belly then you probably have more bad fat than good. If your fat jiggles then you probably have more good fat than bad.

In the meantime while waiting for those new-fangled high tech meds you can always use some nutritional substances, diet and exercise to help combat the buildup of bad fat (see my other posts on metabolic syndrome).

Reference:

Tran et al.: "Beneficial Effects of Subcutaneous Fat Transplantation on Metabolism." Publishing in Cell Metabolism 7, 410--420, May 2008. DOI 10.1016/j.cmet.2008.04.004

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