books in the right place.
A new study in mice found that subcutaneous fat, which accumulates in people in the hips and legs, can have advantages.
Jim Naughten / Corbis
can fat - even lots of it - to be healthy? A provocative study of fat grafts in mice suggests for the first time that the answer may be yes. Although some types of fat are known to be worse than others, no one had directly investigated whether certain types of fat can be a good thing. Researchers say the work is preliminary, but intriguing
For most overweight people, excess fat is in one of two areas :. Deep inside the abdomen (visceral fat) or around the hips and legs (subcutaneous fat). Researchers have recognized for some time that visceral fat is the greatest evil. People with lots of it are much more prone to diabetes, heart disease and other problems that people with excess subcutaneous fat. But he does not know exactly why. The fat itself different, or because of its location in the question of the body?
To probe this question, C. Ronald Kahn, director of obesity research at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, and colleagues designed a relatively simple experiment. They transplanted fat in 42 mice naturally plump, healthy. The mice were divided into four groups that have undergone different types of operations. In some cases, the researchers added visceral fat and subcutaneous abdominal. In others, they nestled visceral fat or subcutaneous fat in the flanks of the animal, the approximate equivalent hips. Thirteen other animals formed a control group; they were made, but received no additional fat.
Kahn team found some surprising benefits to the subcutaneous fat. The mice with fat transplanted subcutaneously into the abdomen won only about 60% of the weight packed with the control group, who, like most mice, continued to grow. These transplant recipients also had higher levels of glucose and insulin. Mice that got subcutaneous fat in additional subcutaneous areas also performed better than controls, but not as good as the first group. Those who had visceral fat added to their visceral cavity were the worst off, the group said today in Cell Metabolism . Autopsies on the mice confirmed that the transplanted fat was still in place.
The conclusion suggests that subcutaneous fat may be beneficial to health, says Kahn. "That's the surprise twist in the story."
The implications are that "the subcutaneous fat produces something that is good for you, and that visceral fat produces something that is bad for you," says Richard Bergman, diabetes and obesity researcher at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Although some studies have correlated excess subcutaneous fat in people with improved insulin levels, the new work is "the most comprehensive study to date" consideration of this, says Philipp Scherer, diabetes and obesity researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
But for Bergman, the conclusion was so unexpected that it is keen to see more evidence, including an index on "magic factor" that could explain the interest of health. "Putting the subcutaneous fat in the visceral compartment is something that happens naturally, so it is difficult to interpret," he said.
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