Fig. 3.

The body harbours different types of fat or adipose tissue.

(A) The fat that is inside the abdominal cavity and in close contact with both the gut and the liver is called intra-abdominal or visceral fat. The fat just beneath the skin is called subcutaneous fat. Intra-abdominal fat is more active, in terms of metabolic processes that are going on inside the cells. The intra-abdominal fat tissue is also active in the production of signals that help the body regulate its energy metabolism. It is thus not just a storage space, but also an active regulator of your body’s energy handling. (B) When this fat tissue is overwhelmed and the fat cells become very swollen, the fat tissue will become inflamed because there is not enough blood supply to and hence not enough oxygen in these too swollen fat cells. This leads to damage and dysfunction of this fat tissue. This inflamed fat tissue will release harmful substances into the blood that can then damage the liver. Subcutaneous fat is less reactive. It stores your energy reserves, which is important to protect us from the destructive consequences of calorie excess. However, there is a limit to that storage capacity too. When your excess calories exceed this storage capacity, the fat will need to go somewhere else.