We generally tend to see people focus on exercise and nutrition plans/diets aimed at decreasing the amount of bodyfat. But there’s a few good reasons why our bodies are so stubborn on retaining fat.
Let’s take a step back to understand the roles fat tissue plays, aside from not being a difficult thing to lose for some (if not most) people.
Adipose (fat) tissue is a layer of our body located between the skin and muscles. To help visualise, imagine an onion – the first layer being your skin, the second being your adipose (fat) tissue, and the next being your muscles.
Adipose tissue has played a fundamental role in the human anatomy since the beginning of our existence. Primarily, our bodies are designed to convert excess calories into fat tissue to be utilised for a couple of functions:
- Increased thermal insulation to aid in maintaining homeostasis
- Utilising fat for energy during low-intensity activities
- Storage of vitamins A, D, E and K
Our bodies need fat for essential bodily functions. There are different ways of measuring our bodyfat levels, however the most common methods are using BMI and bodyfat percentage. You can easily track both by investing in a medium-end bodyweight scale, which are quite common to come across offering a variety of metrics. A good example would be the Renphro Bodyfat Scale, available on Amazon. You can also use a free BMI calculator: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/
But how much fat can be too much? You can take a look at the graphs below, which are based on general population averages:
Source: https://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/whats-the-best-way-to-measure-body-composition/
Fat and Diet
Whilst having a healthy amount of fat within your body essential to good health, building up an excess can cause negative effects such as decreased cardiovascular efficiency, increased risk of diabetes, or even leading towards osteoarthritis. It’s generally recommended to keep your fat consumption at an average of 30%-35% of your daily macronutrient consumption.
To summarise, our bodyfat plays an essential role in maintaining our general health and wellbeing, however building up an excess can lead to long-term issues if not addressed with appropriate habitual and lifestyle changes.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, please feel free to get in touch regarding any questions by emailing info@firmhands.co.uk.
Written by: Filip Kozłowski
Sources used:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/body-fat-percentage-chart
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/what-are-reference-intakes-on-food-labels/
