How do you lose belly fat? No surprise: exercise and diet. Staying physically active throughout the day as well as scheduling time for structured exercise may be even more important than diet. Research suggests that fat cells — particularly abdominal fat cells — are biologically active. It's appropriate to think of fat as an endocrine organ or gland, producing hormones and other substances that can profoundly affect our health.
Although scientists are still deciphering the roles of individual hormones, it's becoming clear that excess body fat, especially abdominal fat, disrupts the normal balance and functioning of these hormones.
Scientists are also learning that visceral fat pumps out immune system chemicals called cytokines — for example, tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 — that can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. These and other biochemicals are thought to have deleterious effects on cells' sensitivity to insulin, blood pressure, and blood clotting. One reason excess visceral fat is so harmful could be its location near the portal vein, which carries blood from the intestinal area to the liver.
Substances released by visceral fat, including free fatty acids, enter the portal vein and travel to the liver, where they can influence the production of blood lipids. Visceral fat is directly linked with higher total cholesterol and LDL bad cholesterol, lower HDL good cholesterol, and insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance means that your body's muscle and liver cells don't respond adequately to normal levels of insulin, the pancreatic hormone that carries glucose into the body's cells. Glucose levels in the blood rise, heightening the risk for diabetes. Now for the good news. So what can we do about tubby tummies?
A lot, it turns out. The starting point for bringing weight under control, in general, and combating abdominal fat, in particular, is regular moderate-intensity physical activity — at least 30 minutes per day and perhaps up to 60 minutes per day to control weight and lose belly fat. Strength training exercising with weights may also help fight abdominal fat. Spot exercising, such as doing sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles, but it won't get at visceral fat.
Diet is also important. Pay attention to portion size, and emphasize complex carbohydrates fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and lean protein over simple carbohydrates such as white bread, refined-grain pasta, and sugary drinks. Replacing saturated fats and trans fats with polyunsaturated fats can also help.
New data shows that women carrying more fat around their middle had a higher risk of succumbing to an early death from any cause than those with more fat around the hips and thighs, even when women were of normal weight. To banish visceral fat, you need to lose weight by eating less and exercising. The good news? Researchers think that visceral fat seems to be the first type of weight to go when people lose weight.
In terms of gaining weight, the reverse is true. As Clegg notes, people tend to gain the subcutaneous kind of weight first. Although losing weight generally is the only way to get rid of visceral fat, exercise does have a small independent effect.
A change in what you eat could also help. When Italian researchers recruited volunteers to consume locally produced, unprocessed foods or food from the supermarket for six months, those on the unprocessed food regimen had less visceral fat, along with better blood pressure and fasting glucose levels.
Because stress hormones like cortisol can encourage the accumulation of abdominal fat, mindfulness and yoga may also help reverse the trend. Note: We are currently in the process of replacing our commenting service, so it may take a few days for previous comments to appear. Login or register on AARP. You are leaving AARP. Please return to AARP. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age.
You can also manage your communication preferences by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering.
Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at www.
Keep weight gain in check. Women tend to put on pounds as they get older and after menopause. This occurs for many reasons, among them hormonal changes, a decline in muscle mass because fat burns less calories than muscle , and in some cases, lifestyle changes. Keeping tabs on your weight — and your waist — and making changes to your daily routine can help prevent the pounds from creeping up as you go through this transition.
To find out how to measure your waist-to-hip ratio, see "Your health by the numbers: Calculating your risk. Weight that comes off slowly tends to stay off. By contrast, very rapid weight loss can trigger your body to slow its metabolism, setting the stage for the weight to be regained quickly. Get moving. It's probably no surprise that increasing the amount of exercise you do should be a goal if you're looking to keep your waistline in check.
If you're squeezed for time, fit it in where you can — for instance, a half-hour walk outside the office at noon or before you drive home for the day. You don't need to go to the gym and change your clothes," she says. Just being physically active can help improve your metabolic health. Even getting up to walk around periodically during work can be beneficial. Regular physical activity may not always help you lose weight, but again, it can help you maintain a healthy weight and also improve blood sugar for people with diabetes.
Having a higher proportion of muscle mass can help you burn more calories, so adding strength training at least twice a week, focusing on all the major muscle groups, may also help you maintain your weight.
Research has shown that a wider waistline can put you at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, but exactly how wide is too wide — and more importantly, are you in the danger zone? Many people gauge their body size by BMI, a calculation based on both weight and height. You're considered overweight if your BMI is 25 to But BMI doesn't tell the whole story. As a recent study in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows, your waist-to-hip ratio may actually be more important in predicting your heart attack risk.
Measure around the widest part of your hips and the narrowest part of your waist, which is just above your navel. Ideally a woman's waist measurement should be less than 35 inches to avoid health risks. Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. You're safest with a waist-to-hip ratio of.
0コメント