What is fat?

Fats are also known as lipids, they are stored as an oily liquid under the skin in the abdomen. Fats form the body's main energy store and are converted into fuel as required. Fat stores also form an insulator against heat loss.

Fats are stored in thin celled walls , you gain weight when the fat cells in your body expand (because you are supplying them extra calories!) The number of fat cells we have varies according to our genetic make up. You can actually develop more fat cells in childhood if you over eat or do not do enough physical activity. When you lose weight, your fat cells contract. You don't lose any fat cells and this is one reason why it's so easy to put the weight back on. This shows the importance of making sure our children have a balanced diet and get enough exercise.

How do we measure fat in foods?

Most foods will have details on their packaging giving you nutritional information. Below is an example from a tin of baked beans.

The amount of ‘energy' that is obtained from a serving of baked beans is 633kilojoules or 149 calories.

So how many calories should we be having each day?

There is no simple answer to this as the amount of calories or energy you need to take in will vary depending on what you are doing. If you continually take in more calories than you need your body will store this ‘energy' in the form of fat.

The government's recommendation is that no more than 35 per cent of your daily calories should come from fat. So, if you're consuming 2,000 calories a day you should be eating no more than 70-75g fat.

In order to lose weight , your calorie expenditure must be higher than your calorie intake. It's therefore important not only to monitor how much fat you consume, but also to watch your calorie consumption. If you combine this realistic diet with a regular exercise routine, you can lose weight healthily.

How do we get over weight?

The most common cause of being overweight is upsetting the balance of the number of calories we need and the number of calories we actually use. Even those people who suffer a medical condition that can cause them to become overweight often are already taking in too many calories!

Some medical conditions that can cause weight gain include: