Holistic weight reduction - Part4 - Anatomy and physiology of energy storage and adiposity

THE HUMAN BODY can be functionally compartmentalized into three parts for understanding the management of problems associated with weight. The first consists of the organs that maintain the different functions of life, the skeletal tissue that supports the body as well as the musculature that activates it. The second is composed of the storage areas that contain energy sources for sustaining life, for maintaining body temperature at appropriate levels for optimum energy production, for mental activity and for moving the body to perform physical activities. The third is the fluid component of the body, which forms a major constituent of the first and second part but is considered a different compartment for the purposes of management of bodyweight. The total body weight is the sum of the mass of all three compartments. The weight of the organs, skeleton and muscle tissue remains fairly constant once adult status is reached, unless muscle building is undertaken by specific exercises. The energy storage areas, which for all practical purposes can be called adipose tissue (the total carbohydrate storage in the body amounts only to about 2-3 days of caloric supply) enlarge slowly and have apparently no upper limit to their weight. The fluid weight of the body fluctuates a great deal, even on a daily basis depending on the fluid balance of the body, which is a function of fluid intake and output as well as the total intake of salt or salt like substances found in many soft drinks that can retain water within the body.

Total body weight can fluctuate because of increases or decreases in any one or more of these three compartments. As a child grows up to become an adult, there is a gain in the weight of every compartment. A disproportionate increase in the fat storage compartment makes the person obese. An inappropriate increase in fluid compartment and subsequent weight gain occurs mainly during certain illnesses related to kidney, liver and heart function or due to excessive production of certain hormones or use of drugs, which have the capacity to retain salt in the body and induce subsequent fluid accumulation. Very rare diseases of hormone production can increase organ or muscle mass. Excessive physical activity can cause hypertrophy of muscles and can thereby increase body weight.

Evolution had to evolve a way of storing energy in as limited a space as possible when massive animals became subject to a greater threat of extinction than smaller ones. The ability to squeeze water out of carbohydrates, which is a compound made of carbon atoms and water, and create fatty acid molecules must have been a fantastic step in evolution, because it effectively condensed energy storage to half the previous volume by concentrating energy from 4 Calories (Kilocalories) per gram of carbohydrate into 9 Calories per gram of fat. At a time when energy sources were not reliably available (there being no refrigerators, or food markets in those early days!) the body could not afford to waste any energy and had to engorge itself with whatever could be eaten, before being eaten by the nearest carnivore! Whatever energy was not immediately required to maintain body function was converted to fat and stored for future use. Since under normal circumstances, there is no way the body can get rid of the energy already consumed in excess of immediate energy needs except by increased energy output, fat storage increases whenever energy intake exceeds energy output. This is the basic physiological reason for becoming overweight or obese.

The facts controlling the biochemistry of energy production and storage are very simple. The most important fact is that when daily energy intake is equal to daily energy expenditure there is no accumulation of energy as fat in the storage compartment. The second important observation is that one pound of fat stores within it about 4100 Calories. The third point is that to lose one pound of fat per week, there must be a daily caloric deficit of 600 Calories between energy intake and energy output.

About the Author : Abe Kurien MD, is a proponent of holistic medicine. He writes profusely on subjects of Weight reduction. His enlightening articles can be found on the smatix weight reduction section : Holistic Nutrition Guide