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When most of us think about fat, we’re probably more concerned with how many calories it has or how it affects the way our jeans fit. But fat in the diet and in our bodies can affect our health in a number of ways. This week on Health Watch, we’ll look at some research on fat. While having no body fat sounds great when you’re thinking about looking good in a swimsuit, that can actually be a dangerous medical condition.
Lipodystrophies are metabolic disorders in which people have no body fat but have many of the same health complications as obese people. Dr. Abhimanyu Garg, a researcher at
UT Southwestern Medical Center, says while these people have no body fat, their livers are loaded with fat, which damages the liver. UT Southwestern researchers recently found that this fat comes from eating fat in the diet, and a fat-free diet lowered the amount of fat stored in the liver.
Visit http://www.utsouthwestern.org/nutrition to learn more about UT Southwestern’s clinical services in nutrition.
