The Problems of Too Much Fat in a Body

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The Problems of Too Much Fat in a Body

[IMAGE][IMAGE]Fats are compounds called trigylcerides, formed by a

condensation reaction between glycerol and usually 3 fatty acids (the

bond is called as ester linkage). The molecule is quite large and has

long hydrocarbon tails. If every carbon atom is joined by a single C-C

bond then we say it is SATURATED, if there is a double carbon bond C=C

then we say this is unsaturated.

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A chain with many C=C bonds is polyunsaturated. Most animal fats are

saturated fats while most plants are unsaturated. Polyunsaturated fats

found in vegetable oils are considered good fats. Saturated fats, the

most abundant in animal products such as meat and milk are considered

bad.

Fats are essential as a store of energy, for insulation and for the

production of membranes, buoyancy, hormone production, but too much

fat can have severe affects. One of the biggest problems is by far

heart disease and heart attacks, two of the biggest killers in the UK.

Heart attacks are often common is obese people who have eaten too much

fat without taking regular exercise ie overweight or obese. As you eat

more fat containing products and do not exercise fat builds up and fat

accumulates in the arteries, which may cause high blood pressure. Fats

stick in and around the arteries and so the space within the artery

gets smaller, the blood has to be pushed through a smaller space and

you heart has to work harder and the pressure of the blood increases.

Fats build up in the arteries may also cause heart attacks. The fat

blocks important arteries such as the coronary arteries and the heart

become subdued in a layer of fat. As the coronary arteries become

blocked with fat the consequence are very severe. The coronary

arteries supple the heart with all the nutrients and fresh oxygen

supplies it needs to function properly. As the coronary arties become

more and more blocked with sticky fat deposits less oxygen gets too

the heart an suddenly is stops and the patient suffers a heart

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