What is Belly Fat?

Belly fat can cause many physical health problems for those whose bodies carry a higher percentage of body fat. Having too much fat can cause some physical health problems and can assist in eroding the mental health of those who feel ashamed by their bodies.

A healthy and balanced diet helps.

There are many reasons why belly fat occurs. Some of it is down to diet, often it could be down to genetics and your general build. An increase in body fat can be a sign of the person living a sedentary lifestyle with little exercise to burn off the calories that they consumed.

So, what is belly fat?

Belly fat is usually defined as the excess abdominal fat surrounding the organs in and around your stomach. There are three recognized types of fat.

Too much of certain food increases 'belly fat'

1/ There are triglycerides, this is the fat that circulates in your blood and reaches every part of your body.

2/ Then there is the subcutaneous fat, this is the layer directly below the skin's surface that can serve as insulation for our body.

3/ And then we have what is known as visceral fat. This is the dangerous belly fat that can become the bane of many people's existence.

Visceral fat is stored fat and it influences how hormones function within the human body. An excess of visceral fat can have potentially dangerous consequences for many. Studies have shown that
the higher the amount of visceral fat a person has stored upon their body, the more at risk they are for certain health complications, such as diabetes and heart disease.



How do we reduce visceral fat?

Visceral fat can be reduced by doing as little as half an hour exercise a day. The more you exercise, the more you will reduce your level of visceral fat.
If you are stressed, the hormone cortisol will cause your body to store visceral fat. So, learning to reduce your personal stress levels can, in turn, reduce your levels of body fat.

A lifestyle filled with exercise and relaxation, combined with a healthy diet will see a reduction of visceral fat from around your belly.
Remember...

Exercise is important in reducing visceral fat.

Even thin people have visceral fat problems, you can still have visceral fat around the abdominal region—being “skinny” doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healthy. There is no sure-fire way to tell visceral from subcutaneous fat on a skinny person. 






So how do you know if you are losing visceral fat?

There is a simple way to measure visceral fat levels. And It requires no expensive equipment. You can check your progress by looking at your belly and your waist size. If your belly is protruding, you likely have a sizeable store of visceral fat. Ultimately your waist to hip ratio demonstrates how high your visceral fat measurement can be.

Fat can be a good thing as it helps to fuel our bodies in everyday activities. But if we consume too much there is a good chance that we will start to impact our physical and mental health.

There is help out there and a sensible approach to eating can stop problems from becoming greater in the future.