Let’s Talk About Belly Fat: Part One

Achieving washboard abs—or even fitting into your favorite jeans—might motivate you to slim your stomach. But, vanity aside, there are very good reasons to try to reduce belly fat.

Weight loss is a sensitive topic, and the decision to try to lose weight or inches off your midsection is a personal one. Weight is also only one aspect of health. Skinny people can have high cholesterol and have difficulty controlling their blood pressure, while heavier people can have normal cholesterol and blood pressure readings.

But it’s important to acknowledge that, in general, maintaining a healthy weight is good for us. Obesity is linked to heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.

And, studies looking at the relationship between abdominal fat and overall health suggest that too much belly fat, in particular, can be a health hazard. In Part 1 of this two-part series on belly fat, we’ll look at the reasons why we should pay more attention to our midsections. Part 2 will offer some waistline-reducing strategies

What’s So Bad about Belly Fat

Research tells us that not all body fat is the same. Some types of fat are necessary for good health—fat in infants, for example, helps keep their body temperature stable, according to experts at Harvard Health.

Generally speaking, most adults see mostly subcutaneous fat on their bodies. You can pinch this layer of fat that sits directly underneath the skin’s surface. It cushions the bones and joints, and tends to accumulate around the waist, hips, upper back, buttocks, and thighs.

Very high amounts of subcutaneous fat can increase the risk of disease, though not as significantly as visceral fat. An excess of visceral fat is sometimes referred to as “belly fat” as it accumulates deep in the abdominal cavity, wrapping around digestive organs like the pancreas, intestines, liver, and heart. Having a lot of visceral fat is linked with a higher risk of:

• cardiovascular disease
• diabetes
• certain cancers, including breast and colorectal cancer
• dementia
• asthma

Tape Measure Test

As we know, numbers don’t lie, and a tape measure is an easy way to keep an eye on your waistline. The Cleveland Clinic offers advice on how to measure for belly fat:

• Waist: Wrap a tape measure around your middle just above your hipbones. Exhale, then check the number. In general, risk goes up when waist size measures more than 35 inches for women or 40 inches for men. (Note: If you’re from South Asia, China or Japan, risk goes up when your waist is more than 31 inches if you’re a woman or 35 inches for a man).
• Waist-to-hip ratio. For even greater accuracy, get a feel for how much fat is stored in your waist, hips and rump. Measure your hips by holding the tape measure snugly around the widest point of your hips. Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. A healthy range is less than 0.8 inch for women, and 0.9 inch for men.
• Waist-to-height ratio. Ideally, your waist measurement should be less than half of your height. (So if you’re 5 foot 6, or 66 inches, your waist circumference should be less than 33 inches.)

What You Can Do

Our tendency to gain and hold onto belly fat depends on a combination of genetics and age—post-menopausal women (and older adults in general) tend to gain more belly fat—and health events, such as pregnancy. But there are other culprits, too. In Part II, we’ll look at more specifics, but in general, research has shown that to avoid gaining belly fat, we’ve got to tackle some health basics:

• Adopt a healthy diet centered on fruits and vegetables, high in protein and lower in carbs. Avoid overly processed foods and sugary snacks.
• Limit drinking. Beer belly is a thing. Too much alcohol can contribute to a gaining weight and visceral fat.
• Stay active. If you’ve been inactive for a while, start with walking—an easy, no-cost approach to better fitness.
• Don’t smoke. Cigarette smoking has been linked to abdominal obesity.
• Get enough sleep. Sleeping less than five hours per night has also been linked to increased visceral fat.