Excess fat in certain places causes a number of serious health problems. But there are also places where a surplus does no harm. So let us first work out where visceral fat sits and how it can be dangerous for you.
Internal fat sits inside the abdominal cavity. It wraps around the heart, the liver, the kidneys and the intestines. And unlike subcutaneous fat, which you can easily feel or measure, internal fat is out of reach.
An excess of visceral fat is dangerous not because it surrounds vital organs, but because visceral fat can work its way into your liver, for instance. There it turns into bad cholesterol, which, once it reaches the bloodstream, can become the cause of heart attacks or strokes.
On top of that, visceral fat contributes to a higher production of insulin, and that is a direct road to diabetes. Inflammatory processes in the body will likewise show up as an increase in internal fat.
Why you put on weight
Genetics. Almost 50 per cent of how fat is distributed in the body is set by genetics. If most members of your family have big bellies or full hips, there is reason to think you will follow suit.
Sex. A normal level of body fat in men ranges from 7 to 25 per cent, and in women from 15 to 30 per cent, notes.
“Men tend to store more fat around the belly, while women put more of it on the hips and buttocks,” Keith Ayoob, EdD, RD, associate professor of clinical medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Age. Older people physiologically have a higher level of body fat overall. This happens because the metabolism as a whole slows down and muscle mass is gradually lost. And in this case the extra fat will most likely be internal rather than subcutaneous.
Hormone levels. After the age of 40, tied to the natural decline of hormones such as testosterone (in men) and oestrogen (in women), explains the rise of visceral fat in the body.
How to get rid of excess weight
- Give preference to complex proteins and carbohydrates;
- Include healthy, that is polyunsaturated, fats in your diet.
- Give your body at least 30 minutes a day and raise the intensity of your sessions gradually.
- Keep stress in check;
- A night’s sleep of no less than six to seven hours;
- Limit your alcohol, or give it up.
Choose complex carbohydrates and proteins instead of sweet things. They are processed more slowly, which means the insulin level in the blood stays steady and does not go above the normal level. The body has no need to store extra fat on the belly or the sides.
Switch to healthier dietary fats. Polyunsaturated fats, found for instance in various nuts, in trout and in flax seeds, support the growth of muscle tissue, which burns calories. Saturated fats, on the contrary, contribute to a build-up of excess fat in the body.
Physical activity. Various strength workouts will help you build muscle, which in turn reduces fat deposits. Alternating running with gentle walking, for example, will help you in the fight against visceral fat
Keep stress in check. Meditation, autogenic training and self-hypnosis will help your body limit the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. That, in turn, keeps excess fat from building up around the internal organs.
Sleep, and get enough of it. It has been confirmed more than once, in long-term studies among others: five hours of sleep gives a 32 per cent increase in visceral fat! Sleeping six to seven hours, meanwhile, gives only 13 per cent.
Limit how much alcohol you drink. Too much alcohol leads to calories being stored as visceral fat and to fatty liver disease. Think of beer bellies. Give up alcohol, or do not go beyond “one drink” a day.
Onedrink- that is 0.5 of beer for men and 0.33 for womenor200 and 100 ml of dry wine or champagne. 50 and 30 g of vodka or brandy respectively.
Remember this key piece of advice: the amount matters. Even if you eat too much of any food, even a healthy one, the extra calories your body does not need are stored as fat.
How to work out how much fat is in the body
The most accurate way to determine the amount of visceral fat in your body is an MRI or a CT scan.
A waist of more than 90 cm in women and more than 100 cm in men is also an indirect sign that you have an excess of visceral fat.
PS This article draws on materials and research from the American Council on Exercise and on the book “Body for Life for Women” (c) Pamela Peeke, MD, an expert on fat deposits.
Take care and stay healthy!
