A little-known type of fat found in our muscles is invisible to the naked eye and important for our body’s function. But when we have too much, it plays a “critical” role in the development of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders and unhealthy ageing, according to a new paper published in Molecular Aspects of Medicine . Most of us have heard of brown fat, the “good” energy-burning type of fat, and white fat, the energy-storing fat that is linked to a higher risk of metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes and obesity, which grows around our bellies and beneath our skin.
But, very few of us have heard of intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT). Too much of a good thing: we need a little fat in our muscles, but too much is harmful. Credit: iStock In small doses, IMAT fat is crucial for maintaining muscle function and providing energy to the more than 600 muscles in our body during exercise.
“It plays a positive role,” says lead author Dr Osvaldo Contreras of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. “It’s healthy to have some of it.” Yet when Contreras and an international team of experts reviewed the evidence, they found that when it builds up, IMAT has “profound implications for human health and unhealthy ageing”.
These experts explain that it can trigger muscle atrophy, diminished functional capacity, inflammation , insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and the acceleration of the ageing process. What causes IMAT to a.
