Now You Know - Muscle & Fat

A surprising fact concerning fat cells is that during the first year of life, they grow so quickly that they become adult-sized fat cells often within the very first year.

Do you know why fat cells are so important that they are developed so quickly? There has to be a reason for it. I mean, a developing child must need these fat cells to help nourish them while they are still developing strong organs/etc.

...fat cells grow through a lack of physical activity and, most notably, a poor diet; this should obviously come as no surprise.

Some people are genuinely surprised that they are fat and often blame everything else except what they are doing. I cannot recount the amount of time I have heard 'genetics' being blamed, when I know that they are chomping in front of the tv like a couch potato first chance they get.

I have much more compassion for those that acknowledge their weight issue as a direct consequence of their actions.

"fat cells grow through a lack of physical activity and, most notably, a poor diet."

Does this mean that we have the same number of fat cells no matter whether we are athletic or obese???

Number is not the real issue, it is the size or mass of the fat cells. While the numbers might be the same due to genetic set point as we age a lack of exercise combined with a poor diet increases the size of the fat cells.

Let's take that question one step further. If we get liposuction and remove some of those fat cells, are they gone for good or does the body make new fat cells to keep the genetic set point?

It is my understanding that at that point the body will make or acquire more fat cells only in extreme cases. Which would include over indulgent eating, poor diet and food choices and a resulting rapid weight gain repeated all over again.

Liposuction combined with an improved diet and healthy eating habits will rid the body of a percentage of fat cells (removed surgically) while the remaining fat cells can be decreased in size through better eating habits and exercise.

Fat cells are for storage.

It's part of your "Fight or Flight" mechanism. It is a defense for when food is hard to come by in the days where foraging was the way of life. It's too bad it doesn't become obsolete like appendix and tonsils. At least you can have it surgically removed.

Obesity comes from lack of activity and is what happens when that mechanism starts working against you when you're not doing what your body was designed to do.

When you exercise regularly, you're burning energy and that keeps the cells small.

"Namely, that our genetic makeup is determined before birth and dictates the number of muscle cells and the fat cells that we have; this, we obviously have no control over. What we can control is the size and number of these cells."

Which is it? We can control the number of these cells or we have no control over the number of these cells?

To a certain degree we can control the "number" of fat cells but more importantly we can control their "size".

We cannot control the "number" of muscle cells but we can control their "size".

Sorry if that seemed confusing and was not clear enough. I hope this made it clearer.

Hmm, so you mentioned that some performance enhancing drugs can increase the number of muscle cells. Since these drugs simulate natural hormones (or are natural hormones), does this mean that variations in hormome levels through our lives can increase the number of muscle cells? Do human growth factors cause new cell growth in muscle tissues? Do we grow new muscle during adolescence then?

Pharmaceuticals (PEDs) and human growth hormone (HGH) can increase the actual number of muscle cells. Naturally our body cannot develop new muscle cells, although I did read recently that some studies suggested that stretching a muscle during and after heavy bouts of lifting could cause cells to tear and split resulting in an increase in the actual number of cells. But these studies have not been proven. New muscle can only be grown in size naturally. Increase in cell mass is possible but not an increase in cell quantity.

Hold on, are you saying there are pharmaceuticals beside synthetic versions of HGH that can cause new cell development in muscle tissues? like what?

When I mention pharmaceuticals I am referring to man made drugs (steroids, growth hormone etc.) Perhaps I should be addressing them as PEDs and leave it at that.

Considering that pharmaceuticals are intended for the purposes in regard to medical reasons (curing, treating, and preventing disease). Not enhancing oneself. Poor choice of wording on my part.

My question wasn't regarding the use of pharmaceuticals in your statement. It was regardign something othert than natural or synthetic HGH. Obviously synthetic steroids are just versions of natural steroidal hormones. Do steroids (synthetic or natural, and similar precursors) cause new muscle growth?

Steroids in combination with HGH have been proven to increase both the number and size of muscle cells. So yes they can cause new muscle growth, specifically when combined with HGH.

So since both HGH and Steroids are all naturally occuring hormones in the human body, they must cause some increase in the number of muscle cells, particularly during intense hormonal growth spurts.