system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What happens to fat cells as fat is metabolized?

Is fat metabolism basically just a point in time process, or does it kick off a process of longer changes to the fat cells?  What is that process and how long does it take?

This question comes from a thought I had on a 6 hour bike ride yesterday.
gpt
The fat cells (adipocytes) undergo very little changes when fat is used in metabolism, other than decreasing in volume. DNA modifications such as methylation/demethylation and histone remodeling may be long-term effects of fat loss by adipocytes, but this is unclear at this time.


A skinny person and a fat person have the same number of adipocytes. They are like trash bags; when empty they are flat and take up little space, but they have enormous storage capacity. When a person loses fat, the triacylglycerides (TAGs), or fat molecules, are clipped into 2-carbon pieces which then are used in the citric acid cycle (Kreb's). Fat is eventually breathed out as CO2. The adipocyte trash bags are emptied and thus take up less volume.