When Fat Cells Lost Their Way

Long ago, at the dawn of human development, fat cells were honored members of the family of human cells.  In those days, fat cells were a rarity, being created only in the uncommon scenario in which the human host had food in abundance for a prolonged period and could splurge on extra helpings of whatever had been gathered by the tribe.

It was understood, however, that the fat cells wouldn’t stick around for long.  When food became scarce again, as it inevitably did, the fat cells would promptly serve their important purpose and sacrifice themselves for the greater good, resolutely releasing their stores of energy, lipids, and vitamins, to help the human host and its other cells survive the lean times.  In the process, of course, the fat cells would vanish on the wings of the wind.  In short, fat cells manned one of the crucial lines of defense against death and starvation, and they were recognized for their service.

But over time, as homo sapiens thrived and multiplied and began to produce food in abundance, fat cells lost their way.  They looked around and noticed that there were more fat cells like them — in some cases, a lot more.  And none of them seemed to be doing much of anything, much less sacrificing themselves for the greater good.  Their mission for the human host became confused, and the overriding notion of noble selflessness that once motivated the fat cells was lost.

At that point, fat cells became some of the most stubborn and perverse cells in the human body, focused on hanging around at all costs and in the most visible, annoying places.  Fat cells gathered around the belly, under the arms, and in the posterior regions, holding meetings and recruiting other fat cells to their ignoble, selfish cause.  When the human host actually tried to shed a few of those fat cells for the greater good, the fat cells resisted with every pulpy, jiggling ounce of their being.  And if diets and exercise ultimately succeeded in knocking off a few fat cells, it was the stubborn fat cells girdling the waistline, or rear end, or upper arm that were the last to go.

Dieting and losing weight is all about getting the fat cells to remember their actual purpose, and to once again regain the self-respect and sense of self-sacrifice that they once had in days of yore.