Visceral Fat is a fatal health problem that is not talked about enough outside of the health and medical community, but it should be. It is deadly fat that is hidden deep in your abdomen and coils around your vital organs. While a little visceral fat is fine because it can protect your organs, too much of it causes health problems and has been linked to serious conditions like stroke, some cancers, type 2 diabetes, and more.
Anyone can have visceral fat, regardless of body type and weight. It is caused by various factors such as poor diet, lack of exercise, stress and lack of sleep. Unlike subcutaneous fat that you can see and touch, most people don’t know they have visceral fat and therefore don’t take steps to get rid of it. But that can be harmful and dangerous to your health. “Visceral fat is associated with insulin resistance and an inflammatory state that can lead to metabolic complications such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” german Kanji, Maryland Ethos Endocrinology, PLLC tells us.
While visceral fat is incredibly unhealthy and increases your risk of several health problems, the good news is that it’s easier to get rid of than subcutaneous fat. According to Cleveland Clinic, “Visceral fat is actually easier to lose than subcutaneous fat. This is because it is metabolized faster and your body can get rid of it in the form of sweat or urine. If you start exercising regularly and eating a diet healthy, you should start to see results in two to three months. Eat this, not that! Health spoke with experts who share what to know about visceral fat and how to lose it.
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Dr. Naheed A. Ali, MD, PhD with US RX Explain, “Visceral fat is harmful. It is in the abdomen and surrounds organs (such as the liver and kidneys). Visceral fat causes greater health problems than other diet-related concerns. Visceral fat can stimulate the hormones that cause diabetes. Heart health is affected. Damages blood vessels and cholesterol. Increases the risk of heart disease. It can cause liver damage. It can also induce other weight gain (such as in the arms or legs).”
Dr Daniel AtkinsonClinical Lead Treated.com says: “Visceral fat lies quite deep in the upper body, and when we have a lot of it, it can occupy and put pressure on some of our vital organs, like the liver, heart, and lungs.” Basically this means they can’t work as well, for example the liver won’t be able to filter toxins at the rate it normally does, our heart won’t pump blood as well and our lungs won’t be able to reach their full capacity, so you won’t be able to breathe as well If you have a lot of visceral fat, you’re more likely to develop problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, and your risk of heart problems and stroke is increased, so it’s important to try to limit visceral fat, to help minimize the risk of all of the above.
Dr. Atkinson tells us, “Measuring your waist is a good indicator (take a tape measure and run it over your belly button, rather than using your pant size). If you’re a woman and your waist is greater than 35 inches, or if If you’re male and your waist is greater than 40 inches, then you’re probably at the riskiest threshold. BMI won’t tell you your visceral fat level per se, but if you’re overweight (BMI of 25 or greater) or obese (30 years or more), then you may have an unhealthy amount of visceral fat. There are smart scales that can also tell you what your body fat percentage is: the unhealthy threshold is thought to be over 25% if you’re a man, and over 32% or if you are a woman.However, some studies such as East have found that smart scales can be inaccurate in measuring body composition.”
Kent Probst, personal trainer, kinesiotherapist and bodybuilder with Long Healthy Life adds: “One sign that you may have too much visceral fat is if your body mass index (BMI) is 25.0 to 29.9. BMI in this range puts a person at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia , hypertension and cancer. An exception is that Asians develop health problems with a lower BMI. BMI is also less accurate for people who have a lot of muscle mass.”
Dr Dev Batra Interventional Radiologist │ Owner and Founder │ Dallas Vein Institute Explain, “There are a few different ways to tell if you’re losing visceral fat. One way is to measure the circumference of your waist. If you have a lot of visceral fat, you probably have a large waist circumference. Another way to find out is to measure your body fat percentage. If you have a lot of visceral fat, you likely have a high body fat percentage. You can have a CT scan or an MRI to directly measure how much visceral fat you have.”
Dr. Kanji states, “Body composition techniques, such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), can assist in monitoring total and visceral body fat. These imaging techniques are expensive and not widely available.” “More cost effective and easier to do is waist circumference. It’s a crude estimate with data suggesting a correlation with visceral fat.”
Leann Poston MD, MBA, M.Ed. with TeleMDNow Share, “Changing hormone levels with age, weight gain, and chronic stress can increase visceral fat. The best sign of too much visceral fat is measuring your waist. If your waist is 35 inches or more for women, or 40 inches or more for men, then you are at higher risk. You can’t target visceral fat, so the best way to get rid of it is to reduce overall body fat and increase muscle mass.”
Dr. Kanji adds: “Weight loss through lifestyle modifications leads to a reduction in visceral fat along with total body fat. evidence to suggest the same correlated reduction with drug therapy.
Dr. Atkinson says: “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week (for example, jogging or brisk walking for 30 minutes, five times a week) plus muscle strengthening two days a week (for example, lifting weights or performing bodyweight exercises such as push-ups). Keeping it up week after week can help you lose weight.”
dana ellis hunnes PhD, MPH, RD is a senior dietitian at UCLA Medical Center, assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and author at Cambridge university Press of the new book, RECIPE FOR SURVIVAL says: “Aerobic exercise (not just spot exercises like sit-ups) enough to lose weight and build muscle. If you’re burning enough energy/calories from exercise and healthy eating, you’ll lose fat everywhere, even (eventually) from fat.” visceral as well. It won’t be the first fat you lose, but eventually you will lose it if you’re eating healthy and maintaining a healthy weight with exercise.”
The Cleveland Clinic says, “Stress activates a hormone in your body called cortisol. More cortisol activates your body’s ‘fight or flight’ response, which triggers the storage of more visceral fat. Try yoga or meditation to reduce your stress level”.
According to Yale to study“Cortisol exposure can increase visceral fat, the fat that surrounds organs, in animals. People with diseases associated with extreme cortisol exposure, such as recurrent severe depression and Cushing’s disease, also have excessive amounts of visceral fat.”Everyone is exposed to stress. , but some people may secrete more cortisol than others, and they may secrete cortisol every time they face the same stressor… We predicted that reacting to the same stressors consistently by secreting cortisol would be associated with higher amounts of visceral fat “.
Hunnes explains, “A healthy diet based on whole foods and vegetables rich in fruits, vegetables, fiber, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, these are anti-inflammatory, high in fiber that can help lower cholesterol levels, decrease inflammation in the liver and other parts. of the body as well. This can make you lose visceral fat, because if you’re losing fat anywhere, you’re ALSO losing fat there.” Dr. Batra adds: “Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will help boost your metabolism and also help you feel full.”
The Cleveland Clinic says, “A healthy diet includes lean protein, whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruits, and vegetables. Try to limit trans fats, refined sugars, sodium, and processed foods. Low-carb diets, such as The ketogenic (keto) diet can help reduce visceral fat by training your body to burn fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.”
