Study Highlights How Slim Does Not Always Mean Healthy

The British Medical Research Council says that you may be slim and still have dangerously high levels of fat within you.

Using MRI body scanners doctors demonstrated that even super-slim people could have high levels of internal fat collecting around the heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas. These people, dubbed "skinny-fats", could be seriously putting their health at risk.

Obesity - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Complications, Treatment
Obesity is a condition where there is excess accumulation of body fat which poses a risk to the health of the individual. It can affect children and adults.

"The fat we can see on overweight people is subcutaneous fat," The Daily Telegraph quoted Dr Ron McCoy, Melbourne-based spokesperson for the Royal College of Australian GPs, as saying. However, what could be more dangerous is visceral fat or the fat we can't see but which surrounds vital organs.

Dr McCoy said: "Visceral fat is metabolised by the liver, which transforms it into cholesterol. Cholesterol circulates in the blood and can collect in your arteries, creating heart disease and high blood pressure."

Visceral fat is also believed to produces more hormones and proteins than subcutaneous fat, affecting glucose levels and leading to the onset of type 2 diabetes and other health problems like cardiovascular disease.

Atkins Diet - Basic Principle Stages Foodmanual Advantage Disadvantage FAQs
Atkins diet is a low carbohydrate diet and aids in weight loss. It was developed by Robert Atkins.

But the question is if one is thin then how does fat accumulate inside the body.

Lack of physical exercise is the biggest reason.

High Cholesterol | Hypercholesterolemia - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment
High cholesterol level in blood are a risk for heart disease and stroke. They get deposited in the wall of the arteries and clog the circulation posing a threat to life.

Sam Mower, an exercise physiologist, said: "If your body isn't moving, it doesn't metabolise the fat that's building up - either outside or inside."

Diet is another factor.

Low Calorie Diet | Low Calorie Foods
Low calorie meals or diet include foods that are high on nutritional content and yet have fewer calories. Updated information about low calorie diet or low calorie foods and its health benefits.

"If you're eating foods high in saturated fat, such as butter, cheese, cakes and biscuits, it's nearly all stored as visceral fat," Mower said.

The menopause and sugar intake by way of alcohol consumption are among other causes.

Source-ANI