Contrary to the popular (mis)belief, not all body fat is bad. Yes, some types of it increase your risk for serious diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart attack, certain kinds of cancers, etc. On the other hand, you might already know that fat keeps you warm. Other than that, it also plays a role in hormonal balance, blood pressure management, brain functions, and healthy metabolism. Belly fat is something that many struggle with. If you are on a weight loss journey or have ever delved into it, you might already have a good idea of just how difficult it is to get rid of that. So what might help is to get a better idea of what belly fat is made of. By knowing that, you’ll have a better idea of the health implications and how to shed it.
What Are The Types Of Belly Fat?
All that fat in your belly isn’t just of one kind but is made up of two distinct kinds of fat: subcutaneous and visceral. Let’s take a look at them one by one.
Subcutaneous Fat
Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) is another name for subcutaneous fat.
- Just pinch your belly. This pinchable fat is the subcutaneous fat.
- It’s found right under the skin.
- The subcutaneous fat is considered to be much less dangerous as compared to the visceral kind and has much lesser links to the chronic health conditions we already mentioned.
- When it comes to this type of fat, there is a female-male bias, as women are more prone to store the subcutaneous fat as compared to men, as per a leading health website.
Visceral Fat
This is the more harmful kind of belly fat, also referred to as visceral adipose tissue (VAT).
- Visceral fat envelops your vital organs such as kidneys, liver, and pancreas, and hence, is found much deeper inside the belly as compared to the subcutaneous kind, which is found right underneath the skin.
- As compared to subcutaneous fat, visceral has more cells, blood vessels, and nerves.
- It’s the one linked to chronic and serious health conditions.
- Links have also been found between visceral fat and insulin resistance, which in turn can lead to type-2 diabetes. Hence, this is how belly fat of this kind increases your risk for diabetes.
- It is also linked to chronic inflammation.
- As opposed to the subcutaneous kind, when it comes to visceral fat, men are more likely to store it than women.
- However, in the case of the latter, this pattern changes with age. Premenopausal women are more likely to store subcutaneous fat, while postmenopausal women store visceral fat more.
- Overall, when someone says that belly fat puts you at risk of numerous health issues, he/she is probably referring to visceral fat.
How To Reduce Belly Fat?
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So what is the way out? You know just how difficult it can be to get rid of that stubborn belly fat. Here are some of the tips that might help:
- Exercise More: Now this one is a no-brainer. Once you start working out, you will see a reduction in body fat from across your body that includes that stored in your belly. Hence, get moving. Walk, jog, do yoga, swim, cycle, dance, do anything that gets your heart pumping. However, do not miss out on strength and muscle training, which are also crucial for overall health.
- Have A Balanced Meal: Without having a proper diet, you cannot lose any weight and will forever remain far from your fitness goal. Hence, have a balanced meal containing all the food groups, macronutrients, and essential vitamins and minerals. Load up on lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fat in your diet.
- Stay Clear Of Highly Processed Foods: You cannot reach anywhere with an apple in one hand and a pizza slice in another. It doesn’t work that way and you need to choose between the two. Just think of where you want to reach: your ideal weight, or you struggling with obesity and the numerous health issues it brings along with it. That will make the selection easier.
- Cut Back On Refined Sugar: Those crystal clear sugar grains that taste like bliss on your tongue are another reason for your increasing waist size. Hence, try to limit your intake of sugary food items, whether in the form of sweats, drinks, or any other kind.
- Limit Of Alcohol Intake: The drinkers argue alcohol’s health benefits, the teetotallers bring in the moral argument, not to forget the havoc it unleashes on liver health. But one thing is lost in this argument that by drinking you are also consuming loads of calories, which end up as belly fat, which needs hard and consistent effort to go away.
- Get Ample Sleep: When it comes to weight loss or overall health, sleep is something that people often miss out on. However, you might not make the same mistake if you know that a large study involving over 50,000 people found a link between sleep deprivation and larger waist size. So next time you look at your sleeping hours and then your belly size, you might be able to find a link.
Hence, as you can see, fat is not all bad. However, excessive fat accumulation can put you at risk of several health issues. Hence, what is needed is a balance, which not just prevents those health issues, but also contributes to an improvement in metabolism, hormonal balance, and brain health.
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