In addition to giving you the "muffin top" effect when you squeeze into a pair of tight jeans, belly fat also has serious health consequences for women, including an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Even worse than the fat you can see and pinch is the visceral or intra-abdominal fat hidden beneath your abdominal wall. A number of factors, including hormones and heredity, put women at risk of a widening waistline. Finding and remedying the risk factors in your lifestyle that contribute to belly fat can help you trim up your stomach and improve your health.
Significance
Although a slowing metabolism, unhealthy eating habits and less physical activity can contribute to overall weight gain as you age, MayoClinic.com says that these factors do not directly affect your visceral fat. Heredity and hormones play a large role in the development of belly fat. Harvard Women's Health Watch indicates that childbirth also plays a role since women who have given birth tend to develop more visceral fat than ones who have not.
Time Frame
Since women's weight gain patterns shift as they grow older, age affects the development of belly fat. MayoClinic.com says that the hormonal changes of menopause make you more likely to gain weight around your middle, rather than your hips and thighs. Muscle mass decreases with age. Failing to replace the lost muscle can cause your body composition to shift to more fat and less lean muscle, which can slow the rate at which your body can burn off calories.
Considerations
Eating too many fatty foods and sweets can contribute to belly fat, but so can other unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as stress. In an article on the Fitness magazine website, Dr. Mehmet Oz, author of "You on a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management," suggests that stress can add pounds to your waistline. Oz theorizes that stress can cause your body to suspect a looming crisis and deposit extra fat cells into your belly -- the most convenient storage area for the extra fat.
Misconceptions
Gaining extra weight isn't the only way to develop belly fat. As you grow older, your limb and hip fat decreases while your abdominal fat increases. This can cause you to pack on pounds around your waistline even if you do not gain any weight. MayoClinic.com says that belly fat poses the same health risks for normal weight women as it does for overweight ones.
Prevention/Solution
Although heredity and age influence belly fat, a widening waistline isn't inevitable. MayoClinic.com recommends fighting belly fat through diet and exercise. The clinic suggests getting at least 30 minutes a day of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, to help tame tummy fat. Monitor your diet carefully to ensure that it contains plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables -- and less trans fats, hydrogenated vegetable oils and fructose-sweetened foods and beverages.
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