What is adipose tissue? How can it benefit the body?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

First and foremost, triglycerides—either from food or from the body’s fat stores—provide the cells with energy. When a person dances all night, her dinner’s triglycerides provide some of the fuel that keeps her moving. When a person loses his appetite, his stored triglycerides fuel much of his body’s work until he can eat again.
Recall that gram for gram, fat provides more than twice as much energy (nine kcalories) as carbohydrate or protein (four kcalories), making it an extremely efficient storage form of energy. Unlike the liver’s glycogen stores, the body’s fat stores have virtually unlimited capacity, thanks to the special cells of the adipose tissue. The fat cells of the adipose tissue readily take up and store triglycerides. Other body cells store only small amounts of fat for their immediate use; fat accumulation in non-adipose cells is toxic and impairs health. This scenario occurs when the diet delivers excesses and the liver increases its fat production. Fatty liver linked to obesity causes chronic inflammation, which can advance to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and cancer.
Adipose tissue is more than just a storage depot for fat. Adipose tissue actively secretes several hormones known as adipokines—proteins that help regulate energy balance and influence several body functions. When body fat is markedly reduced or excessive, the type and quantity of adipokine secretions change, with consequences for the body’s health. Researchers are currently exploring how adipokines influence the links between obesity and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Obesity, for example, increases the release of the adipokine resistin that promotes inflammation and insulin resistance—factors associated with heart disease and diabetes. Similarly, obesity decreases the release of the adipokine adiponectin that protects against inflammation, diabetes, and heart disease.
Fat serves other roles in the body as well. Because fat is a poor conductor of heat, the layer of fat beneath the skin insulates the body from temperature extremes. Fat pads also serve as natural shock absorbers, providing a cushion for the bones and vital organs. Fat provides the structural material for cell membranes and participates in cell signaling pathways.