Geschatte leestijd: 3 minutenYou might not be so happy with an excess of body fat. However, your fat cells themselves can also get upset when they have to become larger than they’d like. They can become disturbed, suffocate, inflame, and become damaged, making it even harder to lose weight.
Damaged Fat Cells
Dr. Katarine Kos, a lecturer at the University of Exeter’s Medical School, examined samples of fat tissue from patients, including people who had undergone surgical procedures due to obesity such as gastric bypass surgery [1]. This analysis of the health of fat tissue in overweight individuals has shown that their fat cells run into trouble when they grow excessively, essentially suffocating in their own size.
One initial reaction might be: “Great!” If you’re struggling with obesity, it’s not unusual to wish those annoying fat cells a nasty death. However, this damage to fat cells is not exactly in your favor.
Inflammation in Fat Tissue
Fat cells also need oxygen to function. When fat cells become too large, they increasingly struggle to receive enough oxygen. This lack of oxygen is a trigger for inflammation in the fat tissue. However, these inflammations are not limited to the fat tissue but ‘overflow’ into the bloodstream where they can be measured with a blood test.
Limited Energy Storage and Fatty Organs
Damaged and disturbed fat cells are also less able to perform their main function: storing excess energy. When fat tissue is unable to store excess calories, this energy can be redirected to vital organs such as the heart and liver. This can then lead to obesity-related health problems such as fatty liver (steatosis) and cardiovascular diseases.
Harder Weight Loss Due to Damaged Fat Tissue
But perhaps there are still some people who think, “I’d rather have a fatty liver than a fat belly.” For those people, it’s good to know that this damage to and scarring of fat cells also makes the fat tissue stiffer and more rigid. Dr. Kos also points to previous studies that have shown that this damage makes it harder to lose weight.
Scarring of fat tissue may make weight loss more difficult. But this does not mean that scarring makes weight loss impossible. Adding some regular activity to a somewhat reduced energy intake for a longer period makes weight loss possible and helps the fat tissue not to become further overworked.
Under those circumstances, losing weight is not impossible but indeed more difficult. You will need to create a relatively greater energy deficit to lose the same weight.
Thin Arms, Fat Belly
Dr. Kos, who heads the adipose tissue biology group at the University of Exeter, explains that the damage to fat cells can also affect the distribution of fat tissue. Damaged fat tissue can therefore also change your figure.
For example, you can develop a fat belly due to an increase in fat in the deeper layers of the abdomen and around the organs. However, the arms and legs can remain thin because there is little fat just under the skin. Although such people may appear relatively slim, the fat can be stored in the abdominal region and internal organs including the liver, pancreas, muscles, and heart. Fat can also be stored in and around the veins, leading to atherosclerosis. This stiffening of the arteries can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes. There is also a link between damaged fat tissue and diabetes, according to Dr. Kos. This does not seem very strange if fat cells are less able to absorb excess glucose in the bloodstream.
One could have very little fat below the skin and still be at risk of diabetes due to a lot of fat within the abdomen and inner organs.
Cause of Fat Cell Damage
Dr. Kos studied damaged fat tissue in the abdomen of overweight people in the hope of finding out exactly what leads to this damage (apart from an excess of calories).
For this, she examined a molecule called Lysyl oxidase (LOX). This molecule stimulates damage to fat tissue by making it stiffer. A comparison between overweight people and people who had lost weight through surgical intervention showed that both groups had elevated levels of LOX. LOX was associated with a higher BMI and seemed to be activated primarily by lack of oxygen and inflammation of the fat cells.
However, this insight changes little in practice. Damaged fat cells seem to hardly heal, and prevention remains the best option. If you have already reached this stage, there is little else to do but accept that you will now have to make extra efforts for a healthy weight. Sorry.
There is evidence that once fat tissue becomes scarred, despite weight loss, it may not recover fully. We need to look after our fat tissue which can cease to cope if it is overworked when being forced to absorb more and more calories. As a clinician, I would advise exercise or at least a ‘walk’ after a meal which can make a great difference to our metabolic health.
References
- Emilie Pastel, Emily Price, Kajsa Sjöholm, Laura J. McCulloch, Nikolaj Rittig, Neil Liversedge, Bridget Knight, Niels Møller, Per-Arne Svensson, Katarina Kos. Lysyl oxidase and adipose tissue dysfunction. Metabolism, 2018; 78: 118 DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2017.10.002
