A scientific word for fat is phat, which is actually a very necessary tissue needed by the body. Phat tissue is also called adipose tissue. There are two kinds: white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT). *1 What do you think they do for you? Listen to what your body fat would say if it could speak for itself:

thermometer

“I can get under your skin.”
Body fat is layered under skin and helps keep the body’s temperature under control. *2

winter coat

“I’ve got you covered.”
Body fat covers vital organs on all sides to keep them protected from injury, especially injuries that might happen when playing contact sports. *3

storage

“I’ve got something in store for you.”
Body fat provides energy that is stored away and ready for you to use at a moment’s notice. *4

elliot

As you can see, fat is healthy! Fat keeps organs safe and keeps your body the correct temperature. When there is no food available to keep the body going, stored fat becomes available to provide the body’s energy. Would that mean that more fat is better? Just how much extra fat should be in your body for you to still be healthy? How can you find out?

Your family doctor knows how to use your age, height, bone structure, family health history, and current weight to discover if you have enough body fat – or too much.

Check out your BMI or Body Mass Index. Here is a website that offers a way to calculate how much body fat you have: www.kidshealth.org. Ask your parents or older sibling to visit it with you. Compare your results with theirs. *4

If you have more body fat than is healthy, it is called being overweight. If you have lots more than is healthy, it is called being obese. *5 Being overweight might keep your body from being able to do some sports activities, might cause shortness of breath and joint pain, might create patterns of sleeplessness, and/or lead to heart disease or diabetes. *6

skateboarder

Becoming overweight or obese might be caused by:

  • Eating too much extra food, even if it is healthy food, that gets stored as fat.
  • Not exercising or doing any outdoor or indoor physical activities.
  • Following family patterns of unhealthy food choices, such as eating candies and packaged desserts instead of fruits and vegetables.
  • Genetics (physical conditions that run in the family).
  • Not getting enough sleep. *7
  • Spending too much time watching television or playing video games (couch potato). *8
game controller

 

“Kids eight-years-old and older spend 4.5 hours plopped in front of the TV or wriggling a joystick. Kids who spend more than four hours a day in these activities are more likely to be overweight compared with kids who do them two hours or less a day.” *9


Think you've got it? Try out these activities and practice what you've just learned.

try it out

try it out


Resources

*1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue

*2 – *4 http://www.nflhs.com/fitness/features/NutritionFatFacts_07172006_jjc.asp

*4 http://kidshealth.org/kid/exercise/weight/overweight.html

*5 http://kidshealth.org/kid/exercise/weight/overweight.html
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/weight/overweight_obesity.html

*6 – *9 http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/weight/overweight_obesity.html