Your Waistline Fat Is Trying To Waste You

Research into what goes on inside the fat we carry around on or bellies is not reassuring. Scientists are reporting new evidence that the fat tissue in those spare tires and lower belly pooches are not passive passengers in life’s journey. Instead, they represent active tissue that sends chemical signals to other parts of the body. Those signals may be increasing your risk of heart attack, cancer and other diseases.

Researchers have found 20 new hormones and other substances not previously known to be secreted into the blood by human fat cells and verification that fat secretes dozens of hormones and other chemical messengers.

The latest research emphasizes the importance of decreasing body fat.

While it used to be thought that fat cells were inert storage depots for surplus calories, studies have established that fat cells secrete certain hormones and other substances. Among those hormones is leptin, which controls appetite, and adiponectin, which makes the body more sensitive to insulin and controls blood sugar levels. However, little is known about most of the proteins produced by the billions of fat cells in the adult body.

Scientists have identified 80 different proteins produced by the fat cells. These include six new proteins and 20 proteins that have not been previously detected in human fat cells. The findings could pave the way for a better understanding of the role that hormone-secreting fat cells play in heart disease, diabetes and other diseases.