Here’s The Truth About Belly Fat

Today we dissect belly fat toexamine the what, why and how.If you are trying to get rid ofthis perpetual problem then thispost will help to nip the problemin the bud.What is belly fat?Belly Fat goes by many names -beer belly, pot belly, abdominalfat, organ fat, intra – abdominalfat or simply fat. But how is thisfat different from the fat that isfound in other areas of thebody?’Visceral fat, …is located insidethe peritoneal cavity, packed inbetween internal organs andtorso, as opposed to subcutaneousfat, which is found underneaththe skin, and intramuscularfat, which is found interspersedin skeletal muscle…Anexcess of visceral fat is knownas central obesity, the “pot belly”or “beer belly” effect, in whichthe abdomen protrudes excessively.’- As mentioned inWikipedia, Abdominal obesity.Causes of stomach fatExcess calories and hormonalchanges are the reasons forstomach fat. Sedentary lifestyleand lack of exercise too cancause belly fat.Waist to hip ratioThe common misconception,that only visibly over-weight andobese people have belly fat,needs to be debunked. Belly fatcan attack anyone, whether skinnyor fat. What does this mean?As mentioned earlier, visceral fatis the real belly fat we are discussinghere, and the real bellyfat that puts you at risk of manydiseases.This is due to the inflammatoryproperties of visceral fat as itconstricts important body-regulatinghormones in your abdominalregion.More than the weighing scale, abetter measure of how muchbelly fat an individual has, is thewaist to hip ratio. You’ll be surprisedto know that several,seemingly thin people have apoor waist to hip ratio, whichputs them at risk of the sameheart diseases and other ailmentsusually associated withobesity. So what’s a good waistto hip ratio? Here’s a table:How to measure: Divide yourwaist measurement at its narrowestpoint by your hip measurementat its widest point.Male Female Health RiskBased Solely on WHR0.95 or below 0.80 or belowLow risk0.96 to 1.0 0.81 to 0.85Moderate risk1.0+ 0.85+ High riskWhy is belly fat worse than fatstored in any other part of thebody?This brings us to the differencebetween visceral and subcutaneousfat. Subcutaneous fathelps in the supply of oxygen. Itacts like a cushioning effect ifyou fall or experience impact. Italso serves as a store house ofenergy. Excess subcutaneous fatwill give you the flabby arms,thighs etc and is easily burnedoff with exercise rather thandiet.Visceral fat only increases yourwaist line, choking and tighteningyour internal organs. As youwill see later visceral fat is linkedto cardiovascular diseases andcancer.Thin individuals too have visceralfat; if you can’t see it, doesn’tmean it’s not there. If you planto lose weight based only on adiet rather than exercise youhave a higher deposit of internalfat around internal organs.Hence even thin people areprone to diabetes and cardiovasculardiseases.Link between visceral fat andcardiovascular diseasesVisceral fat is responsible forinflammation in the body, whichin turn is linked to heart diseases.’Excess VAT is accompaniedby elevated triglycerides,reduced high-density lipoprotein(HDL) cholesterol, elevatedblood pressure, and/or elevatedfasting plasma glucose.’ (Source)These high levels are an indicatorof cardiovascular diseases,but physical activity and diet canhelp you control the risk ofheart diseases.Link between visceral fat andcancerSince visceral fat leads to theinflammation of the body, it islinked to cancer too, especiallycolon cancer. Visceral fat containsan immune cellmacrophages, which produces ahormone Cytokines that causescancer.This hormone ‘can increaseoxidative stress and boost freeradical production and they candisturb insulin function.'(Source) High levels of insulincan cause cancer.Prevention of visceral fat- Losing weight the healthy way.- De-stressing by meditation andbreathing exercises.- Drinking plenty of water toflush out salt from the tissues soas to feel lighter and not bloated.- Eating a proper diet by includinganti-inflammatory foods likeoats, wheat bran, brown rice,green vegetables, fruits, greentea, nuts, fish etc and avoidinflammatory foods like refinedcereals, sweets, fried foods etc.- Liposuction removes subcutaneousfat and not the visceral fatbecause it is too close to theinternal organs, which wouldmake it unsafe.