Getting a flat stomach can be almost impossible. Having some belly fat is natural. This fat protects your body and helps insulate it from heat and cold. But too much fat can harm your health and increase risk of many chronic diseases. So keep your total body fat, including belly fat, at healthy levels to improve your overall health. In this article, we'll learn about two types of belly fat and how to get rid of them.
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What are the types of your belly fat?
Of your total body fat, the belly area has a small amount. There are two main types of belly fat: one under the skin, and the other deep in the belly around the internal organs.
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First: Subcutaneous fat
The fat under your belly skin is soft. It's the fat you usually see jiggling in your belly. This fat isn't linked to higher risk of diseases. Still, having too much fat in the body overall, including belly fat, can raise risk of some chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
On the other hand, keeping healthy levels of belly and body fat can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
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Secondly :- the fat around the organs :-
Visceral fat or visceral belly fat is the fat that surrounds internal organs like the liver, pancreas, and kidneys. This fat is deeper in the belly than the fat under the skin. This type of fat is usually called harmful fat.
Compared to subcutaneous fat, visceral fat is more active in metabolism. This fat has more cells, blood vessels, and nerves than the fat under the skin.
Visceral fat is closely linked to increased resistance to insulin hormone, which mainly controls blood sugar levels. Over time, insulin resistance can raise blood sugar and may lead to type 2 diabetes.
Visceral fat also raises the risk of inflammation in internal organs, which can increase the chance of chronic diseases.
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Too much belly fat harms your health :-
While having some fat in the belly area is natural and healthy for you, having too much belly fat can hurt your health and raise disease risk.
Even though visceral fat makes up only 10 to 20% of total body fat, this fat type is strongly linked to higher disease risks. That’s because visceral fat is active and can produce hormones and other substances, including inflammation hormones that harm your health by raising insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, blood fat levels, and blood pressure.
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The link between visceral fat and liver diseases:
Visceral fat is near the portal vein that carries blood from the digestive system to the liver for processing. Visceral fat moves fatty acids, inflammatory proteins, and other harmful substances to the liver.
This way, visceral fat is connected to liver inflammation and higher liver fat levels, which raises the risk of diseases like insulin resistance and fatty liver disease.
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Total belly fat and risk of diseases:
While belly fat under the skin isn’t closely linked to disease risks like visceral fat is, having large amounts of total belly and body fat is. So it’s important to focus on reducing total belly fat, not just visceral fat.
Studies show that extra fat buildup in the body is a main factor in developing insulin resistance, blood vessel problems, fatty liver, artery hardening, high blood pressure, and metabolic syndrome.
Also, a study found people with more visceral fat than subcutaneous fat have higher chances of death from any cause compared to those with less visceral fat.
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Here are effective ways to get rid of belly fat:
Now that you know about different belly fat types and their health effects, you might wonder how to safely and sustainably lose belly fat. Keep in mind that even though diet and lifestyle play a big role in belly fat build-up, age, gender, and genetics also affect it.
Here are some science-backed tips to lose belly fat:
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Avoid sugary drinks:
Sugary drinks like soda are linked to more visceral fat and bigger waistlines, so you can swap them for water.
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Increase physical activity:
Physical activity can really cut down belly fat. You should mix high and low cardio plus resistance training. All help reduce belly fat.
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Eat more fiber:
People who eat fiber-rich diets tend to have less belly fat than those who don’t.
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Cutting down on processed foods :-
Studies show that eating processed foods often like snacks, sweets, fast food, and refined grain products is linked to bigger waist size and more belly fat.
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Improving sleep quality :-
Poor sleep quality is connected to more visceral fat, and some research links short sleep to a larger waist circumference.
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Increasing protein intake :-
High-protein diets help reduce belly fat. Studies also suggest that some people with a lot of belly fat may benefit from cutting carbs.
