Not all body fat is bad
We often think of all body fat as "bad", but that's not true. Your body needs fat for energy, insulation, hormone production and to store excess calories safely. The problem begins when fat cells stop doing their job.
Healthy fat cells act like tiny storage containers. When you eat more energy than your body needs, they safely store the excess fat until it's needed later. This keeps fat away from important organs such as the liver, pancreas and muscles.
Researchers describe this as the "right" fat. It isn't a special type of fat, but healthy fat tissue that is functioning as it should.
When healthy fat stops working
The "wrong" fat is fat tissue that has become unhealthy. Over time, some fat cells become stressed and inflamed. They lose their ability to store fat efficiently and can eventually die. When there are fewer healthy fat cells available, excess fat has nowhere safe to go.
Instead, it starts building up in places it doesn't belong, including the liver and muscles. This is known as ectopic fat. Fat in these organs can make it harder for insulin to work properly, causing blood glucose levels to rise and increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The findings could also help explain why some people who appear slim still develop type 2 diabetes, while some people living with obesity never do. It isn't simply about body size. As our understanding of the condition evolves, researchers are uncovering new risk factors and seeing type 2 diabetes affect people who don't fit the traditional stereotype, including younger women. Read: Type 2 diabetes has a new target: women in their 20s.
The study was carried out in mice and laboratory-grown human fat cells, so more research is needed to confirm exactly how this process works in people. However, the findings suggest that future treatments could focus on keeping fat tissue healthy, rather than simply trying to reduce the amount of fat in the body.
The message isn't that body fat is good or bad. Instead, scientists say healthy, functioning fat tissue may actually help protect against type 2 diabetes, while losing that healthy storage system could make the disease more likely to develop.
What could this mean for the future?
Editor's comment
This research raises an interesting question about the future of nutrition advice. For decades, food labels have encouraged us to focus on reducing fat, but if scientists continue to show that healthy, functioning fat tissue plays a protective role, could the conversation eventually shift?
This study alone won't change dietary guidance or food packaging. However, if future research confirms these findings in people, we may one day see greater emphasis on foods that support healthy fat tissue and reduce inflammation, rather than simply promoting "low-fat" choices.
The same could apply to the growing number of nutrition and health apps. Today's apps often focus on calories, fat, carbohydrates and protein, but future versions could evolve to provide more personalised insights into how different foods affect fat tissue health and overall metabolic health. As continuous glucose monitors and other wearable technologies become more widely used, diet advice may become increasingly tailored to how an individual's body responds, rather than relying on one-size-fits-all recommendations.
If that happens, it could mark another step in the evolution of nutrition, moving beyond simply counting calories or reducing fat towards supporting long-term metabolic health.
Reference: Kahn CR et al. "Death of adipocytes is a key driver of obesity-associated metabolic disease. Nature Communications (2026). Reported by ScienceDaily on 26 July 2026.
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