One characteristic that all individuals inherit is that of the accumulation of body fat cells. The normal fat cell is approximately 1/500 of an inch in diameter and can increase in number (fat cell hyperpla-sia) and size (fat cell hypertrophy).
The majority of fat cells are acquired during three distinct developmental stages in your life:
- Three months prior to birth
- One year after birth
- The teen years
Once you inherit your quota of body fat cells, that's it; only through a controlled diet and certain selected exercise regimens can fat cells be reduced in size. However, they can never be reduced in number, except by surgery.
Through some rather extensive clinical and laboratory research it has been determined that the average person (and this includes athletes) may acquire 25-30 billion fat cells, while the slightly obese person may acquire 50 billion fat cells and the chronically obese individual can expect to amass an astounding 250 billion fat cells in his or her lifetime.
Judging from these laboratory findings, it is quite evident that chronically obese people who have done all they can to reduce their body weight to an acceptable limit will always have five times more chance of gaining back unwanted body fat than the slightly obese and eight times that of the average person.
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