What happens to our fat cells as our bodies age?

There is new research being undertaken by Dr Barbara Corkey, director of the Obesity Research Center at Boston University. The research looks at fat's metabolic functions in relation to obesity. But what is interesting is how fat once thought to be a passive, stored tissue is now gaining status as an active tissue.

The lowdown on belly Fat

You're born with a certain number of fat cells, and that number is probably genetically determined, but, as you age, two changes take place. From middle to early old age, fat cells get bigger, but, in the last quarter of life, fat cells decrease in size and number.

These changes impair communication with other cells. As a result, you are likely to gain weight until the last quarter of your life, when you'll start to lose weight, even if you eat the same amount of food. It's for this reason why you rarely see a fat 90-year-old. If you live that long, you lose weight because the body starts to regulate your metabolism differently.

Unfortunately most of us don't want to wait until we are in our dotage before we lose our body fat, so I don't know about you, but it's back to the gym for me.