Belly fat not only makes your pants fit tighter, it indicates you have too much visceral fat encasing your internal organs and may endanger your health. The size of your waist determines the status of your health, notes George Blackburn, associate director of the division of nutrition at Harvard Medical School in a February 2003 article in USA Today. While some people may be genetically inclined to gain weight at the belly, it is usually lifestyle choices that contribute to a fat stomach. Following simple, specific strategies can help target belly fat.
Exercise
Reducing caloric intake and increasing your physical activity will help you decrease belly fat. A study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, reported in 2003 that regular, moderate-intensity exercise effectively reduces intra-abdominal fat in overweight, post-menopausal women. The lead researcher on the study, Anne McTeirnan, noted that exercise-induced weight loss seems to come off at the abdomen first. A study from Duke University in the "Journal of Applied Physiology" in 2005 substantiated these findings when researchers concluded that exercise equal to jogging 20 miles per week reduced waist size in overweight men and women.
Moderate Alcohol
You really can develop a beer belly, confirms the Mayo Clinic. Alcohol changes the way in which you metabolize fat and can cause you to store it at the belly. Any type of alcohol, not just beer, when drunk in excess can lead to a fat belly. Wine may be an exception. A drink now and then is fine, but stick to moderate amounts---one daily drink for women or two for men
Sleep
A lack of adequate sleep correlates with weight gain and increased belly fat. The journal Sleep reported in March 2010 that black and Hispanic adults, 40 years old and under, who averaged less than five hours sleep per night had more fat accumulation in their midsection when compared to those sleeping six or seven hours. Too little sleep may cause your hormones to act differently, increasing belly fat and increasing your risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.
Reduce Stress
People who experience too much stress release a hormone called cortisol which causes the body to store belly fat. Researchers at the Health Psychology Program, University of California, San Francisco, studied 59 healthy, premenopausal women and found that those with a higher waist-to-hip ratio reported experiencing more chronic stress. These women also secreted more cortisol when exposed to stressful clinical situations than did the leaner participants. Talk to your doctor or therapist about strategies you may adopt to reduce daily stress, such as delegating more at work, joining a yoga class or simply taking time to engage in a favorite hobby.
References
- USA Today: Belly Full of Danger
- PubMed: Stress and Body Shape: Stress-Induced Cortisol Secretion is Consistently Greater Among Women with Central Fat.
- Fred Hutchinson Research Center: Moderate Physical Activity is Critical for Reducing the Risk of Chronic Disease in Older Women
- Mayo Clinic: Belly Fat in Men
- Reuters: Sleep Habits Linked to Fat Gain in Younger Adults
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