Cardiovascular disease and diabetes in ‘skinny fat’ people

Ever found yourself wondering how unfair it is that some very thin people can eat all the bad food that they want and it never seems to be stored as fat anywhere on their body? Well the fact that we notice we are gaining more weight may actually be a blessing in disguise (provided we do something about it). Researchers have found that just because a person is thin, doesn’t mean they aren’t fat. Thin people that eat junk food without exercising, yet never appear to never gain a kilo are most likely storing fat around their organs and in their arteries. MRI scans have further backed up this theory, showing sedentary people of normal weight possessing much larger fat deposits around their organs than those classified as overweight, regularly active people. In fact, in this study performed they found that out of the women scanned, 45% of them with normal BMI scores had excessive internal fat deposits, and 60% of males within the normal BMI category had excessive internal fat deposits. As this is not visible to the naked eye, these people find it harder to notice how their poor diet and lifestyle is affecting their body and as they have no visible indicator they cannot see how much harm they are actually doing, therefore do not see a reason to change their habits. The reason these thin people do not store their fat as visibly is not because they have a faster metabolism. Usually it’s because they eat too many sugary fatty foods without performing any physical activity, but aren’t eating enough to actually be classified as fat (on the BMI scale or to the naked eye). Links have been established between greater internal fat stores and the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In addition, fat stored around the organs is thought to disrupt the body’s communication systems, disrupting vital signals to organs such as the pancreas and liver. This may alter insulin secretion, thereby increasing the risk of diabetes. This risk of heart disease is also elevated. Excess fat in the arteries (associated with increased internal fat deposits) are associated with increases in blood pressure due to increased resistance to blood flow through the arteries and the risk of developing atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is increased greatly. This increases the risk of hypertension and heart disease. Through improvements in diet and participation in regular exercise and physical activity, these levels of internal fat storage can be markedly decreased. In fact this is one of the first adaptations to increasing physical activity levels. Whilst there may not be obvious reductions in body fat initially, mobilisation and oxidation (transport and use of fat as energy) is greatly increased with increased physical activity levels. By maintaining this healthy lifestyle, risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes is greatly reduced. Above all else, the most important thing is to stay active.