“The abdomen is the most exposed to fat accumulation in men and most women. Due to inadequate nutrition and lack of exercise, even at a young age, additional fat deposits appear around the waist. Research has long argued that being overweight increases the risk of many chronic diseases and various complications, such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke. But the place on the body where the excess weight is deposited can also make a difference in terms of health “, says the surgeon Mihai Ionescu.
Subcutaneous fat vs. visceral fat
Body mass index (BMI) is a ratio of weight to height. The higher this BMI, the higher the risk of disease.
For example, a BMI of 30 is classified as grade I obesity, while a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal weight. A healthy weight is in this range.
However, in recent years, research has suggested that excess fat around the abdomen, regardless of BMI, also increases the risk of developing certain diseases.
There are two types of body fat: subcutaneous and visceral. Think of subcutaneous fat as the “centimeter you can pinch.”
It is located right under the skin and is found all over the body – thighs, arms, even the soles of the feet.
Although too much of this type of fat can be harmful, moderate levels of this type of fat are essential for a normal life.
The fat that fills the heart and liver. Measure your waist
Visceral fat, on the other hand, is found deep in the abdomen and surrounds or clogs major organs, such as the heart and liver.
In large quantities, it disrupts their function and leads to health problems. This type of fat is biologically active, which means that it can upset the balance of several hormones and can produce substances that cause inflammation in the body and increased insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes.
The best way to determine if you have too much abdominal fat is to measure your waist above your navel.
Women with a waist circumference greater than 90 cm and men with a waist greater than 100 cm have high levels of visceral fat.
What are the risks of visceral fat
Excess visceral fat can cause the following health problems:
Cardiovascular problems
Visceral fat triggers inflammation that contributes to heart disease.
Following a study involving approximately 15,000 men and women for almost 13 years, those with the most visceral fat had a double risk of death from heart disease compared to those in the normal range;
Type 2 diabetes
Research indicates a strong association between visceral fat and insulin resistance – a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the accumulation of visceral fat was linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes;
Mental performance
Who would have thought that our waist could affect our brains? A study published in the British Medical Journal found that abdominal circumference in the elderly is a stronger predictor of poor cognitive performance than the body mass index.
A study published in the journal Neurology also indicated that mid-life center-abdominal obesity increases the risk of dementia in old age;
Accident vascular cerebral
Informally called a stroke, a stroke occurs when blood flow to a certain area of the brain is interrupted, causing the death of brain cells.
A study in the journal Stroke showed that waist size and other markers of visceral fat may be better predictors of stroke than BMI.
In this study, participants with waist circumferences – larger than 100 cm in men and 90 cm in women – had a fourfold higher risk of developing a stroke compared to people with medium abdomen.
People with the highest abdominal fat were almost eight times more likely to develop a stroke or similar condition;
Premature death
In one of the longest health studies in the world, researchers found that people with the highest abdominal fat have almost twice the risk of dying prematurely compared to those with the lowest abdominal fat.
The risk of premature death increased with waist circumference, regardless of whether the subjects were overweight or not.
Tips to get rid of visceral fat
Mihai Ionescu is a primary care physician in general surgery, with competence in obesity, oncological, laparoscopic surgery and pelvic floor surgery and comes with some tips to know what to do to get rid of fat around the waist.
Watch how much you eat
Weight loss, to normal, will not only decrease total body fat, but also visceral fat.
This type of fat responds well to the diet, you can reduce it to a minimum, being careful to eat foods in normal portions, fruits, vegetables and insisting on whole grains and lean meat.
It also limits sweet drinks and excess white flour, such as cookies, cakes and savory snacks;
Get moving
People often make the mistake of assuming that a large belly can be reduced by doing a lot of abs and knee bends. Alone, these exercises will not eliminate fat!
Performing regular, moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking for at least 30 minutes a day, can help you lose weight and reduce body fat.
A study published in the journal Obesity found that healthy men who did 20 minutes of weight training each day had a lower increase in abdominal fat over the years compared to men who spent the same amount of time involving -is only in aerobic activities.
However, it is more beneficial to combine weight training with aerobic training.
Pay attention to sleep
A study by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine showed that a sleep shorter than five hours or longer than eight hours is associated with increased centro-abdominal fat.
By making these few simple adjustments, you can move toward a slimmer waist and, more importantly, a healthier and longer life.
Read also:
Get rid of abdominal fat with this JUICE!
Teas that help you have a wasp waist
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