I still remember the first time I was introduced to the concept of “fat”. I was watching an aunt dissect a piece of fried chicken at dinner, using a knife and fork to peel off the skin to reveal the juicy, marbled white layer underneath. “So much fat,” she sighed, leaving it untouched at the side of her plate.
Fat gets a bad rep. Aside from the all-too-brief blip of body positivity in the 2010s, many of us have spent most of our lives locked in a never-ending struggle against fat. We judge harshly when we see it on other people. We don’t like it in our food or on our bodies. GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, now increasingly used off-label by those who are not overweight or diabetic, are just the latest weapon in our battle against fat.
Well, just in time for the upcoming festive season of overindulgence, I’ve got the perfect comeback if someone wants to make a jab at your weight. I’m pleased to inform you that fat is actually undergoing a bit of a critical reevaluation. According to scientists, it’s time that we stop thinking of fat as a blubbery, pointless and supremely undesirable part of our bodies and start thinking of it as a vital organ that we need to appreciate as a critical part of healthy bodily function. New Scientist has even splashed a human figure composed of fat cells on the cover of its latest issue (although I think it would have been a much better image if they’d also photoshopped in a KFC bucket – cowards).
There are a couple of body fat basics that anyone with a biology GCSE knows about: it helps store energy and provides a warm layer of cladding around us when it’s cold. But fat is also richly supplied with nerves that talk directly to the brain and works with our immune system – even our bones and hormones – to keep our bodies functioning well. “People forget that fat is metabolically really important,” Louise Thomas, a University of Westminster professor specialising in metabolic imaging, told New Scientist. “Without fat, we have issues with hormonal control, infection [and] immunity.”
Too much body fat is, obviously, still bad for you. Obesity has been linked to a higher risk of heart attacks, cancer and type 2 diabetes. But this doesn’t mean that all fat is bad. Researchers now talk about “healthy obesity” in individuals who somehow manage to bypass the worst effects of the condition. The location of the excess fat and its behaviour seems to make a difference – and, just like every other cell in the body, fat cells can also misbehave and act up. This doesn’t make fat “bad” in the way that we conventionally understand it; in fact, researchers are now working to find out if these cells can be reprogrammed and made to function healthily.
Why does this all feel so revelatory and cheering, particularly ahead of the holiday season? So much of the Christmas period revolves around coming together and sharing food and drink, but I know I’m not the only woman who feels a residual guilt around the revelry – as if eating an extra Yorkshire pudding or two is going to land me on Santa’s naughty list. I suppose it’s because we have been reared by society to fear and revile fat, particularly if you’re a woman.
As babies, a cuddly layer of fat is welcomed and even prized. But God forbid if you dare grow up into a cuddly, chubby teenager and beyond – your neck is destined for the swinging axe of fat shaming, wielded by your peers, teachers and family members.
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I grew up in the age of reality weight loss shows like The Biggest Loser, a pre-political correctness era when Trinny and Susannah somehow managed to get away with describing women’s arms as “fat sausages”. TV hosts would never be allowed such overt bullying now, but SkinnyTok and wellness influencers have taken up the gambit with far more subtlety. They preach a vision of health that conveniently appears only in one particular form: toned, super-slim and conventionally attractive.
So, what happens if we start looking at our body fat as something not to be loathed and feared, but an organ we need to nurture and care for? We would never think about starving ourselves to shrink our lungs or overexercising to shrivel our kidneys up. We also never blame someone for having asthma or a kidney infection – yet obesity is one of the few health conditions that comes with moral judgment attached.
If we begin to view fat as a necessary prerequisite for a healthy body, maybe we can stop worrying about counting calories and wishing our stomach rolls away. Now that’s a Christmas wish I can get behind.
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