What happens to adipose (body fat) when animals “use it for energy”?

Question

Does it move into the digestive tract, and then they pass it? Is it a separate mechanism? Where does it go and how does it get out?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Fat cells store energy in the form of molecules called triglycerides. Triglycerides are 3 (hence ‘tri’) fatty acid molecules connected together by a glycerol molecule. To use triglyceride as energy, the fatty acids need to be cut from triglycerides and released into the blood stream. Once they are in the blood stream, fatty acids can be picked up by whatever cell in the body needs energy and converted into the energy molecule called ATP by a process called fatty acid oxidation.