How do we love fat? Let us count the ways
By Tasneem Grace Tewogbola
Nashville Tennessean
Fat. It's a word that makes many of us shudder and run to the scale. But the word connotes more than excess weight and flabby skin. Sometimes, in fact, it indicates beauty and good health. And, whether we like it or not, we all need some fat in our lives. How much? Well, here is fat by the numbers.
7: That's the number of popular slang phrases that use the word "fat" in a good way. "Phat" means "great." "Fatty girl" is a hip-hop term for an attractive girl with a curvaceous figure. To be fat is to be prosperous in some traditions. Want to talk? Let's "chew the fat." Then again, you might say "fat chance" and refuse. Living well? Then you may be living "on the fat of the land" in "fat city" as a well-off "fat cat." You dig?
1: That's the number of holidays with the word "fat" in the title. Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" in French. The day before Ash Wednesday, it is the last day that people eat many meats before lent, the Catholic season of fasting, begins.
9: The number of calories in 1 gram of fat.
65: That's the number of fat grams the Food and Drug Administration suggests an adult consume each day. That means 585 (65 times nine) fat calories can be enjoyed each day.
30: That's the percent of your caloric intake (based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet) that should come from fat.
0.4: The number of fat grams a food can contain and still be considered fat-free.
65: The percentage of fat in almonds that is monounsaturated fat, the "good fat" that lowers cholesterol.
60: The percentage of fat in avocados that is monounsaturated. (And by the way, not that we're talking about potassium, but this fruit has 60 percent more potassium per ounce than bananas.)
5: The number of places in the world, found during research, where fat women are celebrated as beautiful, pampered and healthy: Victorian England (recall the paintings of Rubenesque women?), Niger, Uganda, Nigeria and Morocco.
3: The number of injections it may take for a "fat transfer" to work successfully. The fat, which comes from other parts of the patient's body, usually is re-injected four to eight weeks after the previous injection. Sometimes, no matter how many times the fat is injected into lips, eyes or whatever body part needs plumping, the process just doesn't take.
1974: The year liposuction (also called lipoplasty) was invented by Dr. Giorgio Fischer, a gynecologist based in Rome. He is president of the International Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.
95: The number of minutes in the sleeper-hit, low-budget movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which has earned more than $100 million since its April 19 debut. In the case of this movie title, fat means "grossly excessive."
Sources: Andi Stepnick, a sociology professor at Belmont University; www.americancatholic.org; www.parentsplace.com; www.interlink.org.nz; www.bartleby.com; www.lipoinfo.com; www.hollywood.com; www.bluediamond.com; www.avoinfo.com; Diane Seaman, registered dietitian with Baptist Center for Health and Wellness, Nashville, Tenn.
