Abdominal obesity is dangerous and common in the 21st century. Defined as a waist circumference of greater than 35 inches for women, belly fat is associated with a higher rate of lethal complications than full body obesity--a body mass index of 30 or more according to Australian researchers writing in a 2008 issue of Circulation. Ninety-five percent of women who are classified as obese by their BMI have abdominal obesity, but only 58 percent who have an obese waist circumference also have a BMI over 30, according to the same review.
Step 1
Burn fat. This is the only way to lose abdominal weight. Researchers from Denmark found that women who ate a low-calorie diet of between 800 and 1,000 calories per day for eight weeks lost an average of 21.9 percent of their visceral fat. This is the fat that surrounds the abdominal organs, secretes hormones that increase the risk of diabetes and causes increased blood pressure. Targeting a calorie count this low is safe only if the need for three servings of protein, five fruits and vegetables and two servings of foods high in omega-3 fatty acids is met each day. That leaves no room for empty-calorie foods such as pasta, bread, sweets, sugar or soda. A single serving of alcohol, either 4 oz. of beer or wine, may be worth the 100-calorie investment because of its ability to raise your level of high density lipoprotein, the healthy cholesterol that helps prevent the formation of inflammation in your arteries, according to research published in the Journal of Postgraduate Medical Education.
Step 2
Increase the muscle mass in your arms and legs. Abdominal fat is often accompanied by a decrease in the power of the big muscles on the legs, hips and arms. These muscles burn many calories when they are worked actively, an effect that lasts even after exercise is complete. The ShapeUp Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend walking 10,000 steps a day, the equivalent of a five-mile walk, at a moderate to vigorous pace for the purpose of losing about 1 lb. a week. Adding this to a reduced-calorie diet will accelerate weight loss.
Step 3
Sleep seven hours a night, seven nights a week. A study published in the May 2010 edition of Sleep by researchers from Sweden found that women who slept the least had the largest accumulations of abdominal fat. It's theorized that this is caused by levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which does not decrease unless the body is at rest for a continuous seven-hour stretch. To get a quality night's sleep, remove all sources of light and sound from your bedroom, drop the temperature to encourage a deeper sleep and over the windows or wear a sleep visor to prevent early morning waking. Then make sleep a higher priority than TV, housework, crafts or surfing the Internet.
Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Bathroom scale
References
- Circulation: Expanding Evidence for the Multiple Dangers of Epidemic Abdominal Obesity
- Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism: Visceral Fat Loss Induced by a Low-calorie Diet: A Direct Comparison Between Women and Men
- ShapeUp: 10,000 Steps
- Postgraduate Medical Education: Moderate Alcohol Consumption and Coronary Heart Disease
- Sleep: Short Sleep Duration and Central Obesity in Women
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