# So, What Are "Fat Cells"...Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 8, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-fat-cells-really/742511 "2016-01-08T16:54:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-fat-cells-really/742511/1 "2016-01-08T16:54:48Z")
What exactly is a “fat cell”? Are they comprised of the same structures as any other animal cells (other than sex cells)? And, do fat cells undergo mitosis (cellular division of non-sex cells)…or is our body’s population of fat cells totally dependent on our fat intake? FYI: I did Google some images of fat cells with a distinct nucleus, but no mention or portrayal of other typical cellular structures. And, instead of finding info on fat cell anatomy, I found repeated info on how the body breaks down fats to pass through the cell membrane for fat storage. Wikipedia, for one, echoed this same info found repeated through many previously Googled links. Can the SD provide me some insight? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-fat-cells-really/742511/2 "2016-01-08T16:59:02Z")
You will find a lot of the information that you’re looking for here: > **[Adipose tissue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue)** > > Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells and a variety of immune cells such as adipose tissue macrophages. Adipose tissue is derived from preadipocytes. Its main role is to store energy in the form of lipids, although it also cushions and insulates the body. Far from being h In hu... > **[Adipocyte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipocyte)** > > Adipocytes, also known as lipocytes and fat cells, are the cells that primarily compose adipose tissue, specialized in storing energy as fat. Adipocytes are derived from mesenchymal stem cells which give rise to adipocytes through adipogenesis. In cell culture, adipocyte progenitors can also form osteoblasts, myocytes and other cell types. > There are two types of adipose tissue, white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT), which are also known as white and brown fat, respectively, ... ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-fat-cells-really/742511/3 "2016-01-08T17:08:34Z")
They’re regular body cells, with all of the usual bits and pieces, that are made via mitosis. They’re just specialized to store lots of fat molecules, just like other cells are specialized in other ways to do other jobs. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-fat-cells-really/742511/4 "2016-01-08T17:11:04Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > You will find a lot of the information that you’re looking for here: > [Adipose tissue - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue) > [Adipocyte - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipocyte) Yeah, I was going to suggest searching adipocyte. There are pre-apidopcytes and apidocytes–which are are the same cells but differentiated by when they start storing lipids in intracelluar fat globules, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-fat-cells-really/742511/5 "2016-01-08T17:12:37Z")
Fat cells are called adipocytes, and the kind you are interested in are white (as opposed to brown). They produce various hormones and proteins like leptin, they are not strictly passive cells. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-fat-cells-really/742511/6 "2016-01-10T12:11:25Z")
oh gosh, reminds me what I saw last week … lady with two racks. Well the lower set were just the Panniculus (apron of skin cause by losing weight) … Well there are grades of Panniculus… Back to the topic. Seems OP was given a question about whether fat cells were like regular tissue (long lived and slow to zero increase in numbers, originally formed by mitosis ), or were they like red blood cells (and short lived ) , or sperm (formed by miosis, and very short lived ) or ovum (formed by miosis , inside the foetus… and long lived.) or something different Its Regular tissue. “Adults who gain or lose weight may do so through changes in the size of the fat cells, also called adipocytes, that constitute fatty deposits in the body. Children, on the other hand, may put on extra fat by increasing the overall number of these cells in the body.” Therefore child hood obesity is not something they “Grow out of”. Fat can supply water to humans too, fat people can go for longer before dehydration, if not too hot.