Is glycogen and fat the same thing? When will glucose be stored as fat and when will it be stored as glycogen?

Question

Is glycogen and fat the same thing? When will glucose be stored as fat and when will it be stored as glycogen?

Answer 1

Glycogen and fat are not the same thing. Glycogen is directly processed for energy, and fat is stored. Glucose will be stored as fat instead of being converted to glycogen whenever there's extra.  

Answer 2

Glycogen is a polysaccharide of glucose which functions as the primary short term energy storage in animal cells. It is made primarily by the liver and the muscles, but can also be made by the brain, uterus, and the v****a. Glycogen is the analogue of starch, a less branched glucose polymer in plants, and is commonly referred to as animal starch, having a similar structure to amylopectin. Glycogen is found in the form of granules in the cytosol in many cell types, and plays an important role in the glucose cycle. Glycogen forms an energy reserve that can be quickly mobilized to meet a sudden need for glucose, but one that is less compact than the energy reserves of triglycerides (fat).

Answer 3

Glycogen is an energy store in the liver. When exercising for example the sugar (or glucose) in the blood is used to release energy.

When the blood sugar levels drop glycogen (lots of sugar molecules joined together) is broken down to increase the sugar levels in the blood so they can be used for exercising

There is only a limit to the amount of sugar in the blood otherwise the blood becomes thicker that could cause it clot and cause many problems. To prevent this the blood sugar is converted into fat

When glycogen levels are low fat is broken down and is converted into glycogen