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ZOE Science & Nutrition

Recap: The misunderstood function of fat | Deborah Clegg

ZOE Science & Nutrition

ZOE

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Education, Science

4.64.9K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today we’re discussing fat. It’s a word that carries a lot of weight. It’s a source of social judgment, a driver of insecurities and a tool exploited by companies in targeted marketing campaigns. It’s no surprise that a recent study found over 40% of people in the US have experienced some form of ‘fat-shaming’. But do we really understand fat? What it does, how it forms and why its distribution changes as we age. Prof. Sarah Berry and Prof. Deborah Clegg are here to help us answer some of these questions and change our perception of fat. Deborah Clegg is a professor and Vice President for Research at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso. Sarah is Chief Scientist at ZOE and Professor at King’s College London.  🥑 Make smarter food choices. Become a member a zoe.com - 10% off with code PODCAST 🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30+ *Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system 📚 Books from our ZOE Scientists: The Food For Life Cookbook by Prof. Tim Spector Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati Free resources from ZOE: Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition  Gut Guide - for a healthier microbiome in weeks Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here Listen to the full episode here

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello and welcome to Zoe Recap, where each week we find the best bits from one of our podcast episodes to help you improve your health.

0:10.2

Today we're discussing fat. It's a word that carries a lot of weight. It's a source of social judgment, a driver of insecurities, and a tool exploited by big food companies in targeted marketing campaigns.

0:22.6

It's no surprise that a recent study found over 40% of people in the US have experienced some form of fat shaming.

0:29.6

But do we really understand fat, what it does, how it forms, and why its distribution changes as we age?

0:36.6

Professor Sarah Berry and Dr. Deborah Clegg

0:38.8

are here to help us answer some of these questions

0:41.0

and change our perception of fat.

0:46.1

What is body fat?

0:48.0

Oh, that's a great question, right?

0:49.7

So as we eat, extra calories or even calories that we eat

0:54.1

have to be stored somewhere.

0:56.0

And so it's actually stored in a fat cell.

0:58.3

We call it an adipocyte.

1:00.0

It's a sciencey term to talk about a fat cell.

1:02.9

And that's where calories are stored.

1:04.5

So if you don't have enough body fat, it's actually as detrimental to your health as if you have too much.

1:11.6

Because you don't have the energy that you might need. Exactly, right? It's absolutely critical. And women, it's even more

1:16.2

critical. Our brain somehow registers how much fat we have. If we don't have enough fat, we won't

1:21.7

be able to become pregnant. So it's really, really important to understand how incredibly wonderful body fat actually is.

1:29.7

I think it's also something that, again, we think of it as being bad, but now we've discovered

1:34.6

that it's like an endocrine organ.

1:36.6

It actually secretes all of these wonderful hormones.

...

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