眾所周知，肥胖有害健康。人們常說，肥胖會引發(fā)各種各樣的內科疾病：膽固醇過高，胰島素抵抗，還很可能患糖尿病和心臟病。不過，德州大學西南醫(yī)療中心的科學家們提出了不同意見。他們在《內分泌學與新陳代謝新動向》雜志中提出：其實，肥胖可以使人們免遭上述疾病困擾。

Does Getting Fat Protect against Fat?

Everyone knows that obesity is bad for your health. Packing on the pounds, we’re told, leads to all sorts of medical problems: high cholesterol, insulin resistance, greater risk of diabetes and heart disease. But researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center see things a little differently. In a paper in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism [see http://bit.ly/bKaP33], they argue that being fat can actually protect us from these disorders.

The scientists [Robert Unger and Philipp Scherer] don’t deny that we eat too much, especially high-calorie foods chock full of carbs and fats. In the past, that sort of overindulgence, and over-nutrition, used to be reserved for royalty. But now, the scientists note, “bad calories are so cheap that anyone can afford to get overweight.” But obesity, they say, is the body’s way of storing fats where they belong: in fat tissue. That metabolic sequestration actually protects other organs from the harmful effects of fat.

The trouble comes when people who are larger-than-life continue to consume excess calories. That’s when the fat winds up where fat’s not supposed to go…triggering insulin resistance and its complications. So you might be able to get away with the supersized fries. But only if you haven’t already supersized yourself.

—Karen Hopkin

[The above text is an exact transcript of this podcast.]