Summarize the difference between essential fat and storage fat, the necessity of each, and the gender differences in the amount and location of each.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Essential fat is found within tissues such as the muscles, nerve cells, bone marrow, intestines, heart, liver, and lungs. This type of fat is needed for normal physiological function. Without it, human health and physical performance deteriorate. Essential fat constitutes about 3 percent of the total weight in men and 12 percent in women. The percentage is higher in women because it includes sex-specific fat, such as that found in the breast tissue, the uterus, and other sex-related fat deposits.Storage fat is the fat stored in adipose tissue, mostly just beneath the skin (subcutaneous fat) and around major organs in the body (intra-abdominal or visceral fat). This fat serves three basic functions: (1) as an insulator to retain body heat, (2) as an energy substrate for metabolism, and (3) as padding against physical trauma to the body. The amount of storage fat does not differ between men and women, except that men tend to store fat around the waist and women around the hips and thighs.