Subcutaneous fat density

[Richard Masters]

Ever since I started running more than 3 miles at a time (up to 13 miles!) I've started to lose weight very quickly. I was never really overweight, but the difference is noticeable. Another thing I noticed is that certain areas with fat deposits were previously hard, and now they are soft. In another forum, someone proposed the hypothesis that

Hard fat is fat that hasn't seen a good deal of blood circulation in a loooooong time. The fat tends to settle nicely and gets relatively hard. Remember fat needs very little maintenance so the body doesn't bother providing much circulation to the tissue. It's therefore common for people that haven't had much exercise to have hard fat (or rather, it's just firm). Once you start getting plenty of cardiovascular exercise however your circulation improves dramatically. Your body needs to open all the capilliaries at the surface of your skin to get the blood moving around. This means capilliaries through subcutaneous fat. So as you get fitter, your fat turns more jelly-like (it's quite nasty, trust me ). However, it's a great sign. The more blood vessels going through your fat, the more readily your body can access those fat stores and the healthier your body is becoming.

It's all the same stuff, but the soft fat is the one that's disappearing and the hard fat will just hang around.

It seems to me that this is correct, but I'm not sure. Does anybody know?

Also, is there any health benefit to having a BMI closer to 21 vs closer to 25?

 

[casebro]

Re: BMI, latest study I heard is anywhere from 17-34 is just fine.

And that it ain't the fat that is deadly anyhow, it's the concomitant diabetes. So fat without diabetes is a plus actually.

And also lately, it isn't the saturated fat in the diet either. But something somehow related- not the burger, the condiments? Not the butter, the toast ? So now I'm wondering it it's not the fat in the hot dogs and sausage, it's the sodium phosphate perhaps?

 

[Richard Masters]

Thanks for the information casebro. Where did you read those studies?

Can anyone address the quote about soft vs hard fat?

 

[casebro]

Al three studies were in the mass media lately, 3-4 months? And I believe they were all done by Kaiser, with mega numbers of subjects, like 11,000?