Carrying excess fat, regardless of the location, can predispose you to myriad health problems. Research indicates however, that carrying fat deep within the abdomen poses a particular danger. While you might think of fat as excess tissue just taking up space in the body, belly fat is biologically active, emitting hormones and other substances that influence the development of serious health conditions.
Heart Disease
Abdominal fat secretes specific immune system chemicals that promote inflammation in the body, affect blood clotting and raise blood pressure, says an article published on the Harvard Medical School website, "Abdominal fat and what to do about it." Abdominal fat can also affect production of cholesterol in the liver by secreting harmful substances into the portal vein, the main vein that carries blood and nutrients to the liver. This can raise levels of "bad" cholesterol and lower levels of "good" cholesterol.
Diabetes
The aforementioned actions of abdominal fat also appear to influence the development of insulin resistance, a precursor to the development of type 2 diabetes. Your pancreas releases the hormone insulin to move glucose, or blood sugar, into your cells for energy. When you have insulin resistance, your body cannot use insulin efficiently and your pancreas releases more and more to complete the job. Eventually, it cannot keep up with this increased need, and glucose begins to build up in the blood stream.
Cancer
According to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, belly fat can raise cancer risk by promoting harmful changes in the body such as altered hormone production. Belly fat has been linked to an increased risk of pancreatic, breast and uterine cancers. Harvard points to a European study of over 500,000 people that found women with a waist-to-hip ratio greater than 0.85 were 52 percent more likely to suffer from colon cancer.
Mental Health
A study presented at the 2005 meeting for the Society of Neuroscience noted excess abdominal fat was linked with poor memory and reduced verbal fluency. Harvard also points to studies that have shown large amounts of abdominal fat were associated with higher levels of depression, hostility and dementia.
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