The fats the secret organ

When you hear the words "body fat," the first thing that likely comes to mind is that small puffiness that starts to protrude above your cheeks when you overeat during the holidays. Or perhaps you think of that fat that accumulates on your back. Many people have a tangled relationship of love and hate with the accumulated fat in their bodies, and in most cases, hate takes the upper hand, a stance clearly reinforced by the media. You can't open a magazine without facing at least one article about dieting, weight loss, or supplements aimed at making us thinner, with less effort, of course. We have been flooded with success stories and professional models staring at us seductively from magazine pages. What is fat in reality, and what does it do? Is it really as bad as everyone claims? Until recently, we knew little about our fat more than any other organ in the body. Yes, fat is an organ like our heart and lungs! How does fat work in the body? And why does one person have a lot of it while another has only a small amount? Do hormonal imbalances have anything to do with that? Is excess fat harmful to everyone to the same degree? Why do diet systems often fail or only have temporary results? And how can you ensure maintaining a healthy weight over time? Should you avoid stress, stand in the cold to stimulate fat burning, and benefit from other smart strategies? And how do your sleep/wake cycle, hormones regulating your appetite, medications, affect your fat mass? We all know that an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise play a major role in the obesity epidemic. But in recent years, many other things have also emerged, and it has become clear that there is a whole world of hidden contributors to weight gain! It is important to gain knowledge for yourself so you can use it well in your personal life to reduce (or increase) fat mass, make it healthier, or prevent it from becoming larger unintentionally. We also decided to share stories of a few patients suffering from very rare disorders related to their body fat, who left a significant impression on us.