Six Scientific Facts About Belly Fat Everyone Should Know

Our expert: Dr. Anna, Nutritionist

Do you have an “apple-shaped” figure, where fat primarily accumulates in the abdomen? This means that you’re the “lucky” owner of internal (visceral) fat. What do you need to know about this type of fat, and how do you get rid of it?

Fact number 1: Visceral fat is located deep in the abdominal cavity and envelops large organs including the liver, pancreas, intestines, and kidneys.

Fact number 2: Unlike subcutaneous fat, which primarily affects the only appearance, visceral fat leads to a high risk of developing diseases such as arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis,myocardial infarction, stroke, type II diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cholelithiasis disease, arthritis, and others. Scientists have also discovered that people with more belly fat have lower bone density, which increases the risk of developing osteoporosis in the future.

Fact number 3: You can know whether it’s time for you to lose weight by measuring your waist. This is the simplest method for determining excess belly fat. Normally, the waist should be no more than 80 cm for women and less than 94 cm for men.

Fact number 4: Visceral fat is the first and easiest to remove. To do this, you need to move a little but do so constantly. It is enough to walk quickly for an hour a day. On a treadmill, you can increase the incline uphill to increase the intensity. If you sit a lot, find a way to stretch your legs. Set a timer on your phone to remind you to get up every half hour. Or try standing or squatting during your breaks.

Fact number 5: While it helps in the fight against “bad” cholesterol, fish oil does not affect the waist in any way.

Fact number 6: Don’t blame the beer — blame the soda. The term “Beer belly” got its name for a reason, as the frothy drink is high in calories that can lead to weight gain. However, sugary or sweetened sodas even labeled “zero” and “light,” will lead to the accumulation of belly fat even more quickly. To get rid of excess fat, follow a sensible diet: eat small portions, and add a lot of vegetables to your diet. And instead of soda, drink water or something else low calorie such as green tea.

Several studies have shown that catechins, the antioxidants found in green tea, can help burn visceral fat. Swapping tea for sugary drinks saves calories. Just don’t add honey or sugar to your tea.

How to start fighting fat

To reduce the amount of internal fat, you should get rid of those extra pounds. But if you have been overweight for a long time, and there is a lot of it, you should first undergo an examination to determine what harm it has already done to the body and how to correctly build a weight loss strategy:

• Measure your blood pressure, which should be <130/80 mm Hg.
• Take a clinical blood test, a general urine test, evaluate the levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins, very low-density lipoproteins, high-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose-insulin, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and creatinine in the blood with the calculation of the glomerular filtration rate.
• To assess the state of the liver, undergo an ultrasound examination of the liver and biliary tract to determine the levels of total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartame aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) in the blood.
• If you snore at night or complain about general fatigue and drowsiness during the day, you should undergo studies of night pulse oximetry or polysomnographic study to exclude obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
• Men with a decrease in potency are also recommended to have total testosterone, sex-steroid-binding globulin, free testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and prolactin levels checked.
• Young women with menstrual irregularities, galactorrhea (spontaneous milk release without connection to the child’s feeding process), and infertility must undergo a hormonal checkup.

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