Though many people are overweight or obese, having too much belly fat can be especially harmful to your health. The size of your waistline directly affects your likelihood of developing numerous diseases. Even though the health dangers are varied, there are several things you can do to get rid of your belly fat and get down to a leaner size.
Location
How the fat is situated on your belly can play into your health risks. For instance, those with an apple-shaped body carry excess weight on the front of the belly. This is synonymous with the beer gut. If you carry weight on your lower abdomen, hips and thighs, you're pear-shaped. Those with an apple shape are more at-risk for disease than pear-shaped people, and men are more likely to suffer from abdominal fat than women.
Complications
Having too much belly fat puts you at an elevated risk for various diseases including heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes, according to Harvard Medical School. Your risk of certain kinds of cancers are also elevated including breast and colorectal cancers. The outward fat you can see on your belly isn't the problem. The problem lies in the fact that those with excess belly fat tend to have too much visceral fat, which encases the internal organs.
Determining Risk
Figuring out how much belly fat is too much is vital to determining your disease risk and making the appropriate changes to your lifestyle to improve your health and lengthen your life. According to PubMed.gov, a waist circumference of 35-inches and above for women and 40-inches and above for men elevates your risk for heart disease. Measuring your waist is a more accurate determinate of your risk than your body mass index because it is the location of the fat that's the problem, not so much the amount of it.
Solution
To eliminate your unhealthy belly fat, you'll need to adopt a healthy diet and exercise regimen. Reducing your daily caloric intake can help you lose weight when performed in conjunction with aerobic exercises like running or swimming for 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Toning exercises like situps will strengthen your abdominal muscles but won't burn the fat.
References
- Harvard Medical School: Family Health Guide: Abdominal Fat and What to Do About It
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Determination of Degree of Abdominal Obesity
- PubMed.gov: Waist Circumference and Mortality; A. Koster, et.al.; April 15, 2008
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity Guidelines
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