Does fat actually “harden” or is there something else going on?

Question

I read about subcutaneous and visceral fat and I understand it's the latter that is hard (and therefore cannot really be perceived by a person by touching and feeling around on the skin I assume).

But my question stems from my perception that my belly fat has been very apparently "hardening" over the past few weeks. I don't know if it's the fat actually hardening or some other phenomenon, but I wanted to know if subcutaneous fat ACTUALLY hardens?

I read in some places that perhaps the fat is "settling" and therefore hardening after LOONG periods of no exercise and therefore no circulation. Is there any scientific weight to that theory or is it just voodoo myth like most things on the internet?

If that's a myth then what is the explanation for my belly hardening recently?

Thanks for the info.

Answer 1

I think you are confusing some things here. From Wikipedia:

In humans, adipose tissue is located beneath the skin (subcutaneous fat), around internal organs (visceral fat), in bone marrow (yellow bone marrow) and in breast tissue.

How your body stores fat is mostly defined by your genetics.

I have never heard of any of the claims you are making in your question and they don't seem to be the explanation for your issue. It might be best to see a medical professional to talk about that specific problem.