Abdominal fat: more sinister than the beer belly, paunch, spare tire, love handles, etc.

The extra Kgs of weight that you carry in your body, often park themselves in and around the abdomen. This is all the more true for people going through their middle years, since the proportion of Body fat storage to body weight increases. Of late, due to the modern lifestyles,this condition is also seen with alarming regularity in the younger generation.

As the waistline grows, so do the health risks. Abdominal fat, also technically referred to as the visceral, needs serious notice since it is a critical factor in the onset of several health problems. Visceral fat is worse than the subcutaneous fat – the one that you can grab with your hand. Visceral fat hides deep within the abdominal cavity, filling up the spaces between the various organs in the abdominal region.

Visceral fat has been shown to be associated with metabolic disturbances and increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In women, it is also liked with breast cancer and the need for gallbladder surgery.

Generally speaking, the fat that is evident in the lower half of the body (as in those with the pear shape) is subcutaneous, while fat present in the abdominal area (as in those with the apple shape) is largely visceral. How and where the fat ends up in the body is influenced by several factors, primarily heredity and hormones.

The fortunate thing is that visceral fat reduces fairly easy with regular exercise and proper diet, with lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels as ensuing benefits. However, the subcutaneous fat around at the waist — the type that you can pinch with your fingers — can be really difficult to be rid of. Unless you are looking for six-pack abs, it’s generally not considered as much of a health threat as visceral fat – provided you are among the normal-weight people.

..to be continued in Part 2 (click the link)