fat metabolism
Breaking down fats
Fat metabolism is the set of biochemical processes by which the body breaks down, stores, and uses fats for energy.
Dietary fats are digested into fatty acids, which cells either burn for fuel or store in adipose tissue.
When energy is needed, stored fat is mobilized and converted to usable forms: Exercise increases fat metabolism.
The term appears in discussions of weight loss, nutrition, and metabolic disorders.
- lipolysisMetabolic fat decomposition
- free fatty acidsUnesterified lipid molecules
- acetyl-CoAActivated two-carbon metabolic intermediate
- adipocytesLipid-storing cells
- fat cellsLipid-storing body units
beta-oxidation · body fat · visceral fat · obesity · insulin · mitochondria · fatty acids · ketogenesis · triglycerides · thyroid hormones · glucagon · citric acid cycle · peroxisomes · leptin · liver · esterification · lipid · satiety