Fat Notes

Fat has multiple functions:

● Energy
● Structural components of membrane
● EFA’s
● Fat soluble vitamins
● Satiety
Fat Storage
● Storage is dynamic
● New fat cells are made once cells reach a “finite” size
● Conversion of dietary fat to stored is relatively energy efficient ~3%
● Exercise training increases LPL making storage of fat very rapid, especially in muscle
Fat Storage Locations
● Adipose Tissue
○ ~85% fat. This allows for ~8 kcal energy to be stored/ g tissue
○ 1 lb of adipose tissue= 448 g fat x 8 kcal/g= 3584 kcal/ lb of body fat
○ Muscle fat storage ~300g (7-40 mol/kg) or 2400 kcal
● Muscle Tissue
○ 70-75% water
○ 1 lb muscle contains ~454g muscle tissue or ~ 113.5~ 126.3 g protein

Fat Metabolism During Exercise

● At rest 90-95% of fat is esterified within
lipoprotein or in cell to either
○ Triglycerides (TG)
○ Phospholipids (PL)
○ Cholesterol Esters (CE)
● First step in fat mobilization is to
release fatty acids (FA) from TG
● Activity, stress, or fasting and starvation
increase FFAs in the blood
● Hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) is
activated and TGs breakdown
○ 3 FFA + 1 glycerol
● FFA + albumin -> transported to cells
for energy
● Glycerol to liver for gluconeogenesis

Intramuscular TG
● Fat is stored in lipid droplets adjacent to the mitochondria
● Muscles contain HSL activated by SNS and EP and inhibited by insulin
● FFA released by muscle TG can be oxidized in the muscle or released into the blood
● Exercise training increases the use of muscle TG as an energy source during exercise.
Limitations to Fat Oxidation
● All of these steps are also limitations
○ Lipolysis
○ Removal of FAs from fat cells
○ Transport of fat by blood
○ Transport of FAs into the muscle cell
○ Transport of FAs into the mitochondria
○ Oxidation of FAs in the beta oxidation pathway and TCA cycle
Enhancement of Fat Oxidation
● What factors regulate the amount of fat we burn during exercise?
● How can we increase fat oxidation
○ For improved exercise performance
○ For reduction of body fat
Fat as a Fuel Source for Exercise
● CHO and fat are oxidized simultaneously. The relative contribution of fat and CHO to
energy expenditure depends on:
○ Exercise intensity and duration
○ Level of exercise
○ Sex
○ Typical diet and level of fat/CHO
○ Diet before/during exercise
Enhancement of Fat Oxidation Training
● Increased mitochondrial density
● Increase in number of oxidative enzymes
● Increased capillary density
● Increased FABP concentrations
● Increased CPT concentration
● Exercise training:
 ○ Increase mitochondria content & # of enzymes
■ Enzymes for CAC, b oxidation and ETC
○ Increase LPL, lipase, fatty acid acyl-CoA synthase and reduction carnitine,
carnitine transfer
○ Increase muscle TG storage and oxidation
○ Increase FFA uptake by the muscle
○ Alteration in the mobilization of FFA from adipose tissue
○ Increase O2 delivery to the muscle for fat oxidation
Enhancement of Fat Oxidation Diet
● Most people have 2 hours worth of glycogen they can use when competing. Once
glycogen stores are depleted, or severely reduced, fatigue and discomfort sets in and
pace must slow down
● High fat diets/fat infusion
○ Hypothesized that high fat diets would increase the availability of fat oxidation
and the ability to burn fat during exercise, thus less reliant on CHO
Ketones

Acetone
● Levels of acetone are much lower than those of the other two types of ketone bodies
● Produced in small quantities; high volatile. Hence it is not used by the body
● Cannot be coveted back to acetyl-CoA, excreted in the urine and exhaled
● The exhalation of acetone is responsible
for the characteristic “fruity”odor of the
breath of persons in ketonic states

Ketone Levels
● Normal KB in plasma: 9.2mmol/L
● Starvation: 3-5 mmol/L
● Diabetic ketoacidosis: >12mmol/L
● KB of >12mmol/L, saturates all oxidative
pathways
● Normal KB in urine <1mg/day