Fat on the legs may also absorb fats from the diet, keeping them from over whelming the body when people overeat, Manolopoulos said。

　　马诺洛波洛斯说，大腿上的脂肪可能还会吸收饮食中的脂肪，在人们吃得过饱时使它们不对身体造成过大的负担。

　　Cholesterol levels reflect a tricky balance between highdensity lipoprotein, the HDL or "good" cholesterol that removes harmfulfats from the blood, and low-density lipoprotein, the "bad" LDLcholesterol that can harden and block the arteries。

　　胆固醇水平反映了高浓度脂蛋白和低浓度脂蛋白之间的一种复杂的平衡关系。高浓度脂蛋白是一种良性胆固醇，可清除血液中的有害脂肪；而低浓度脂蛋白是一种恶性胆固醇，会造成动脉硬化或堵塞。

　　Fat in the thighs may also be more stable, he said, with studies showing abdominal fat breaks down quickly during fasting orstress, releasing potentially harmful components from the fat。

　　马诺洛波洛斯说，大腿上的脂肪也更加稳定，一些研究表明腹部脂肪可通过节食或压力迅速化解，将潜在的有害化合物从脂肪中释放出来。

　　"The exact regulatory mechanisms of fatty acid release and storage and their effect on short- and long-term fatty acid metabolismremain to be analyzed," Manolopoulos wrote。

　　马诺洛波洛斯写道：“脂肪酸释放和存储的具体调节机制以及它们对脂肪酸短期和长期代谢的影响仍有待分析。”

　　Leg fat may also be better at producing hormones such as leptin, which are made by fat and affect appetite and metabolism -- although Manolopoulos said this is poorly understood。

　　另外，腿部脂肪的燃烧更易产生瘦素等激素，瘦素由脂肪分泌，能够影响食欲和新陈代谢，不过马诺洛波洛斯说人们对其认识还不够。

　　Understanding all this could lead to better drugs for treatingobesity and related disease such as diabetes and heart disease,Manolopoulos said。

　　马诺洛波洛斯说，了解这些知识能够让我们研制出更好的治疗肥胖以及糖尿病和心脏病等相关疾病的药物。

　　Vocabulary:

　　secrete:generate and separate from cells or bodily fluids 分泌

　　depot:a place where large amounts of food, goods or equipment are stored 贮藏处

　　metabolism:the chemical processes in living things that change food, etc. into energy and materials for growth 新陈代谢