Maybe the biggest thing on your mind when you plan to lose weight and improve your look is your belly area and the fat that piles up there from doing many wrong healthy habits, To help you know those habits that cause belly fat buildup and the main natural factors behind it, we bring you this article.
What are other names for belly fat?
Belly fat is known as the fat around your waist that causes noticeable weight gain, also called central obesity or belly obesity.
What causes belly fat buildup?
Fat builds up around the waist in an annoying and embarrassing way because of some wrong healthy habits, mainly:
First: eating large amounts of sweets and sugary foods
Belly fat is closely linked to eating foods high in sugar like sweets, canned juices, and soft drinks. Eating these can cause your body to store a lot of fat fast, and you'll gain weight quickly and noticeably.
Second: Eating foods with trans fats
Trans fats are unsaturated fats with added hydrogen to last longer. You find them in sweets and snacks. Studies show a strong link between eating trans fats and having lots of belly fat.
Third: Lack of movement and activity
If you often sit for long periods watching TV, you're more likely to get belly fat. You eat your meals and snacks through the day without trying to burn off the extra calories with physical effort. Not exercising regularly leads to fat build-up, especially around your belly.
Fourth: Eating low-protein meals
Meals with moderate or high protein help your metabolism and keep you feeling full longer, so you eat less. But eating too little protein makes you feel hungry often and slows calorie burning, causing belly fat to build up over time.
Fifth: Drinking fruit juices
You might think this means just drinking canned and sweetened juices. But even unsweetened fruit juices have high sugar, especially fructose, which causes belly fat to build up. Plus, the calories in juice don’t make you feel full, so you end up drinking a lot. This backfires by increasing your waist size because of fat buildup.
Sixth: eating low-fiber meals
Eating lots of natural fiber in foods helps you feel full faster and stops you from eating too many calories. If you eat foods without natural fiber, you’ll feel hungry longer and eat more food. This leads to fat building up, especially around your belly.
Seventh: stress
When you feel stressed or anxious daily, your adrenal gland releases cortisol to help your body cope. But if stress lasts too long, your body makes lots of cortisol, which leads to storing more fat, especially in your belly and waist.
Eighth: not enough sleep hours
Getting enough good sleep is very important because it helps keep your metabolism balanced. But if you sleep short, broken hours, you’ll gain weight and belly fat quickly and noticeably.
Besides these causes, there are other natural reasons that lead to fat buildup in the belly area, such as:
First: Menopause age
Menopause age is when a woman stops having periods, and her body makes less estrogen hormone. This causes fat to build up around the belly and hips. Though this fat isn't harmful, it can be tough to lose in some cases. The earlier menopause happens, the less belly fat usually builds up.
Second: Genetic factors
Your genes and genetic factors control your body's metabolism rate and where fat is stored. So belly fat buildup might be due to these genetic factors. If you gain weight, your belly might be the first place the body stores the extra fat if genes play a role.
Third: Increase in good gut bacteria
Your body naturally has good bacteria in the gut that helps boost your immune system and keep you healthy. But if this balance tips and these bacteria increase too much, it can cause diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart problems. It also helps fat build up in the belly and causes central obesity.
Why you should get rid of belly fat?
Besides being annoying to look at, the fat around your waist carries many health risks and diseases like:
- Breast cancer
- Diabetes
- Gallbladder health issues
- Heart diseases
- High blood pressure
How can you get rid of belly fat?
To get rid of stubborn belly fat, you need to follow a healthy diet focused mainly on adding lots of proteins and natural fibers, and boost this with a workout plan that includes a set of belly exercises to reach the goal you want. You can download the Fitness garage app and use your personal coach through it to get these results faster.
