Excess Intake Of Fats And Why It Matters

Weight gain -Similar to other macro-nutrients, fats also lead to an increase in weight when consumed in excess over time. In fact, for the same amount of grams of either carbohydrates or proteins, fats contain slightly more than double the calories(9 calories per gram). For this reason, even slight changes in fat intake or reduction can impact weight.

Increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases –Excess or high fat intake is associated with high likelihood of cardiovascular diseases e.g stroke, coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. With an increase in LDL cholesterol, the risk of atherosclerosis also increases. Hypertension and uncontrolled atherosclerosis elevate the risks of heart attack and stroke.

Increase the risk of hypercholesterolemia(too high LDL cholesterol )–Apart from other risk factors of high cholesterol including genetics, consuming a diet high in fats, especially saturated fats or trans fats can be a risk factor of hypercholesterolemia. This is resultant of the fact that these fats raise the LDL cholesterol levels in the blood.

Increase the risk of hyperlipidemia– Besides several non-modifiable risk factors e.g genetics associated with hyperlipidemia, an increased risk of hyperlipidemia can also result from high fat intake, especially from trans fats and saturated fats. Hypercholesterolemia involves high levels of cholesterol -it is a type of hyperlipidemia while, hyperlipidemia is too much fat (triglycerides and cholesterol) in the blood .

Triglycerides – fats converted from any foods ingested and stored in fat cells as they are not required for use at that time. 

Untreated hyperlipidemia increases the risk of coronary heart disease.