Published on March 9, 2023
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Inactivity can lead to excess fat, but excess fat is anything BUT inactive!
Scientists speak of fat as an “endocrine organ,” much like other major glands (adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, hypothalamus, to name a few) that pump hormones into our bloodstream, affecting other bodily functions as well as behavior.
Unlike the thyroid or pituitary glands, fat has a seemingly infinite capacity to make more of itself. Too much body fat acts like a poison, spewing out substances that contribute to diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, many cancers, insulin resistance and other illnesses, and attendant ailments.
It’s long been known that abdominal fat poses a greater health threat than lower-body fat. Researchers in more recent years speculate the reason for that is because visceral fat (deposited around the organs in the midsection) is more metabolically active than subcutaneous fat (the layer under your skin). The internal organs, particularly the liver, essentially marinate in that sea of fat, vulnerable to the toxic secretions that can tool with your metabolism.
The more overweight you are, the larger your fat cells, the more active metabolically they are, and more likely to churn out harmful substances.
