A Potpourri of Fotty Molecules

A Potpourri of Fotty Molecules
Safflower
is an OldWorldherb
relatedto daisies.
lts seedsare
r i c hi n a n e d i b l eo i l a n di t sl a r g e
orange-red
flowersyielda dye.
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ChapterIntroduction
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Cnsr rruPorrrrr:
Obesity
17.1 Waxes
17.2 Triglycerides
FoLLow-up
ro tne Cnsr truPottrtt:
Obesity
Loor: CosmeticCreams
A CLosER
17.3 Lipid compositionof cell
membranes
A Closrn Loox: Cells
17.4 Structureof liposomesand
cellmembranes
17.5 Steroids
hormones
17.6 Steroid
17.7 Malesexhormones
17.8 Female
sexhormones
17.9 T h ep i l l
1 7 . 1 0Plantsteroids
and
1 7 . 1 1Prostaglandins
52t
T ipids are a classof naturally occurring compounds that dissolve
I ,in organic solventssuch as ether and chloroform. This property
setsthem apaft from carbohydrates,proteins, and nucleic acids,the
other greatclassesof biological molecules.Lipids encompasssuch a
wide variety of molecular structures that their study will allow us to
review many of the functional groups we have seen before while we
learn about their biological function.
Obesity,or being overweight,occurswhen the body storesexcessive amounts of one kind of lipid that we discuss in this chapter.
Becausemany people are concernedabout controlling their weight,
we explore the measurement of obesity and its treatment in this
chapter'sCasein Point.
leukotrienes
Cnsrrn Porrr:Obesity
Fat, fat, fat! Our culture is obsessedwith
fat. Almost every day we can expect to
hear somebody say, "I'm too fat!" \Mhile
people often want to reduce their weight
in order to look better, obesity is a health problem as
well as a cosmetic problem. Medical results of being
overweight include increases in blood pressure, ga1lstones, and diabetes and an increased risk of certain
cancers. Obese people are also increasing their risk
of having a heart attack. How is obesrty measured?
What are the possible treatments for obesity? We will
learn the answers to these questions in Section 17.2.
diet,regularaerobicexercise
Besides
a reduced-calorie
the metabolicrate
in weightlossby increasing
assists
from excess
storedfat.
and by burningcalories