If you have extra belly fat, you also have a higher risk for several health conditions including diabetes, stroke, cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and metabolic syndrome. Sometimes what appears to be belly fat, however, is really bloating because of waterlogged tissues. This results in what "Fat Flush for Life" author Ann Louise Gittleman calls "false fat." Other times, it can be caused by gastrointestinal issues that cause your middle to swell.
Size
Measuring your waist size is one way to estimate your risk for disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. If you're a man, a middle bigger than 40 inches means you have higher risk. If you're a woman, a measurement of 33 inches or larger raises your risk. The only way to get a truly accurate idea of how much belly you have, however, is via a CT or MRI scan, according to U.S. News and World Report. This can detect the deep-belly fat surrounding your organs, called visceral fat, which is more harmful than the fat you carry just beneath your skin.
Considerations
"Fake fat" can change your waist size. It may have one of many causes. These can include certain medicines or hormonal imbalances, according to Gittleman. If you are a woman, you may suffer water retention during the week before your period, according to the Mayo Clinic. Adding more physical activity to your day, limiting salt intake and eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine can help you reduce belly bloat. Prescription and over-the-counter medicines can stress your liver, which makes it tougher for your body to metabolize fat and digest food, according to Gittleman.
Function
Not consuming enough water or enough protein can add "false fat" to your middle, advises Gittleman. Inadequate water intake affects every system in your body, but especially your gastrointestinal system because it needs water for digestion, according to the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts. One common side effect of inadequate water is constipation, for example. Low protein intake can lead to symptoms of malnutrition, including bloat, according to "Clinical Nutrition," by Michael J. Gibney. Inadequate protein can affect your kidneys' ability to function properly. Your kidneys remove wastes from your body. When they don't function correctly, wastes build up in and damage your body, according to the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse.
Potential
Food sensitivities can cause your weight to yo-yo as much as 5 to 10 pounds in a day because of your body's inflammatory response to the perceived toxin. Your body actually holds water in attempt to dilute this toxin, according to Gittleman. The foods that most often spark such reactions are milk, yeast, wheat and sugar. Food sensitivities differ from food allergies, which can cause anaphylactic shock.
Expert Insight
Gastrointestinal issues may cause your belly to swell. These can range from common gas to inflammatory bowel diseases, according to Patricia Curtis' Readers' Digest article, "Quit Your Belly Aching." If you suffer from Crohn's disease, for example, your GI tract is constantly inflamed. Irritable bowel syndrome can cause either diarrhea or constipation. With gas, if you're average, you'll pass it 14 to 23 times daily, though trapped gas can cause swelling.
Effects
Stress can puff your belly as well. This is because of your vagus nerve that runs from your brain to your intestines. When your brain becomes overstressed, it can lead your gut to suffer strain as well, according to Curtis. Your enteric nervous system, or ENS, may be responsible as well. This is your gut's "brain." During stress, an abnormal amount of signals are passed between the brain and the ENS.
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