A fat belly usually indicates the presence of visceral fat---a particularly dangerous type of fat that surrounds the internal organs and predisposes you to certain chronic conditions. This fat, according to the American Heart Association, correlates with heart disease, high insulin levels, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and some types of cancer. Anne McTiernan, a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, notes in a 2003 issue of USA Today that belly fat tends to be one of the first places weight falls off when you make focused dieting and exercise attempts. Adopt strategies to reduce your belly fat and improve your body and health.
Exercise
Exercise targets belly fat. A study in the 2005 edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology found that exercising more than the amount recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine for health results in greater fat loss at the belly. This study measured jogging and found that about 20 miles per week resulted in abdominal shrinking.
Dairy
Eating more dairy helps encourage weight loss---particularly belly fat loss. A study out of Australia's Curtin Univeristy of Technology demonstrated that dieters eating five servings of dairy a day lost more weight and fat over the course of 12 weeks than those eating just three servings. Try low-fat milk, yogurt and cottage cheese.
Whole Grains
Whole grains make you feel full longer, encouraging less spikes in blood sugar that cause energy highs and lows and cravings. Making whole grains your primary carbohydrate (along with vegetables and fruits) helps encourage fat loss at the abdomen as well, according to a 2008 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Give up "white" products and switch to whole wheat bread and pasta, brown rice, barley and quinoa.
De-Stress
When stressed, the body releases more cortisol, a hormone that researchers at Health Psychology Program, University of California, San Francisco, found encourages central fat distribution. Give yourself a day off every now and then---try yoga or meditation and learn to delegate to help reduce obligations and related stresses.
Alcohol
Too much alcohol does lead to the beer belly. According to the Mayo Clinic, drinking too much of any type of alcohol causes fat to accumulate at the belly. Moderate your intake and choose wine, if you can, as it may not cause fat accumulation as readily as other types of alcohol.
Sleep
A study in the journal Sleep in 2010 suggests that people getting between six and seven hours of sleep per night accumulated less fat at their belly over the course of five years than those sleeping less than five hours or more than eight hours. Improper sleep may lead to the release of hormones that encourage fat storage.
Stop Smoking
Along with the other health problems caused by smoking, it seems to encourage the storage of dangerous visceral fat. A study in Obesity Research in 2005 of more than 21,000 British citizens demonstrated that smokers, despite having a normal body weight, had a dangerous percentage of fat stored at their abdomen.
Trans Fats
Do not buy packaged products with "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredient list. This indicates that they contain trans fats (even if the label reports 0 trans fats). A study in the journal Obesity in 2007 showed that monkeys eating trans fats gained a disproportionate amount of weight at their abdomen, even when their total calorie intake was controlled. Avoid fried foods in restaurants as well, as many still use the man-made fat because it is shelf stable and cheap.
Green Tea
Consumption of green tea, when combined with 180 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise, encourages the body to lose belly fat, as reported in the Journal of Nutrition in 2009. Researchers believe a compound in the tea is responsible for the result.
Crunch
Although spot reduction of fat is not possible, you can strengthen the muscles that lie under your belly fat so they will appear leaner and tighter when you do drop pounds. Try the bicycle, stability ball crunches and hanging leg raises to target all the muscles of the belly.
References
- Curtin News: Higher Dairy Intake can Help Fight Obesity
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: The effects of a whole grain-enriched hypocaloric diet on cardiovascular disease risk factors in men and women with metabolic syndrome.
- Journal of Nutrition: Green tea catechin consumption enhances exercise-induced abdominal fat loss in overweight and obese adults.
- Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health: Is there a role for monounsaturated fat in the dietary management of obesity?
- Journal of Applied Physiology: Inactivity, exercise, and visceral fat.
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