What Makes People Fat ?

What Makes People Fat ?

For many years, nutritionists have taught that too much of almost any kind of food could be converted to body fat. Recent research has shown this to be wrong: in almost all cases, the only thing that adds to body fat is the fat we eat.

It seems the body does not like turning protein into fat, and will only convert carbohydrates into body fat if you eat huge amounts. Carbohydrates are generally used to power the body. Any excess is stored as glycogen in the muscles, and can also increase the energy used for metabolism. It's not until you eat more than 500 grams of carbohydrate at one sitting - the amount in more than 30 slices of bread - that the body converts it to fat. This means we should stop avoiding bread and blame the spread instead.

Alcohol, so often blamed for excess fat, is not directly converted to body fat. It's obvious, since alcoholics who take in many calories from alcohol but eat little food are almost always thin. Alcohol, however, does contribute indirectly to body fat by making it more difficult for the body to burn up the fats in food. Alcohol plus fat is therefore a bad combination for those who gain weight easily.

Sugar (a rapidly absorbed carbohydrate) when combined with fat may have a similar effect in preventing the body burning fat to provide energy. But in all cases, it's fatty foods that are the root cause of excess weight.

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