The richer countries of the world have seen marked increase in obesity levels, especially in the last couple of decades, and a lot of this weight gain has been around the abdominal area.
Many people become frustrated about this when they look in the mirror and are unhappy about the restrictions on their activities. However there is no apparent realization that the excess belly fat has huge health implications out of proportion to overall weight gain.
The worst of the offenders is the visceral fat lies within the abdominal cavity and spreads around the internal organs. This type of fat is higher risk than that found around your gut area on the outside of your stomach muscles (commonly called subcutaneous fat).
This visceral belly fat has been connected to all sorts of health risks with new reports of other risks coming out often. These risks include heart disease and strokes, and associated high blood pressure, diabetes (especially Type 2), quite a few different kinds of cancer (including breast cancer), metabolic disorders, gallbladder problems, and as many wives would attest, sleep apnea and snoring. This must give some importance to an effort to get rid of that weight.
This type of fat makes a person look rounded (rather than pear shaped), and is most easily measured by waist circumference which may be one of the best indicators of whether an individual will have health problems. A commonly used way of measuring the total body fat is the Body Mass Index (BMI), how-ever this does not provide information on visceral fat which is of higher risk.
This visceral fat tends to be easier to reduce through both diet and exercise and your health risks will drop accordingly. A strong emphasis should be placed on losing this fat as it has been shown to be involved in hormone production. This in turn has a flow on effect to liver function, the production of cholesterol, the body’s reaction to insulin, not to mention a likely role in developing cancer.
The belly fat on the outside of the abdominals and under the skin is less risky health wise but can be more tricky to get rid of.
lowering the risks is worth doing and something can be done. Moderate exercise, especially involving the large muscle groups, at least 3 times per week is likely to have a very beneficial impact on your health.
Walking and jogging will start you off and exercise with weights will also help as the larger muscles use a greater amount of energy both while being used and for maintenance.
Of course a sensible diet with a strong emphasis on fruits and vegetables, and lean meat will also assist in reducing that excess abdominal fat.
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