Not only is excess abdominal fat unsightly, but it can also be dangerous. There are many reasons why people accumulate fat around the midsection. This article is going to break down the four main causes and what you can do to avoid belly fat.
What is abdominal fat?
Abdominal fat is an accumulation of fat around organs located around the abdomen. The fat can cause conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
You can tell if you have belly fat by measuring your waist circumference. It should not be more than 80 centimeters for women and 94 centimeters for men. But for a more reliable diagnosis, you can measure your blood pressure or perform a lipid profile. A lipid profile is a blood test that allows you to measure the amount of cholesterol in your blood.
An unbalanced diet
Another cause of belly fat is poor nutrition. Eating in excess and in an unbalanced way can cause fat to accumulate in the abdomen. To avoid excess fat, eat balanced meals with proteins (animal or vegetable), fibers (fruits and vegetables), and fats of vegetable origin (oils) rather than those from animals (cheeses, meats, etc.).
It is also important to avoid foods with a glycemic index lower than 50. This prevents excessive secretion of insulin (the hormone which makes it possible to assimilate sugars). Examples of such foods include avocado, almonds, walnuts, tofu, eggplant, fresh peas, apples, and tomatoes. But you can eat anything that you want in moderation.
Stress
Stressed people secrete more cortisol which causes the accumulation of belly fat. Stress also leads to the overconsumption of high GI products. These two factors work together to produce abdominal fat. To lower your stress levels, get more sleep and engage in relaxing activities. Your body will produce less cortisol and excess abdominal fat will disappear.
Hormonal changes
While belly fat affects men and women, it affects women more. This is because estrogen levels drop during menopause, leading to the displacement of fat from the hips to the waist. But men between the ages of 45 and 65 can experience the same with andropause, which causes a reduction in testosterone. One way to reduce this fat is by working out and watching your diet. But if exercising and eating well do not help you shift the fat, your doctor can give you hormonal treatments.
Living a sedentary lifestyle
If you have abdominal fat, engage in daily physical activity. You will gain weight if your caloric expenditure is lower than your intake. But there’s no need to do intense sporting activities, endurance exercises are better for reducing belly fat. For example, you can take a 30 to 40-minute brisk walk every day. It would also help to book an Emsculpt Neo session to help burn an equivalent of 20,000 crunches in 30 minutes.
You can also engage in the following activities to ensure that you keep moving :
- Go for a walk during lunch break.
- Move around the office rather than send an email to a colleague.
- Walk to pick up your children from school, if it is not too far.
- Walk your dog every morning and evening.
Good luck!
Once you’ve learned these causes of belly fat, you are going to implement them. This will help turn your lifestyle around, even if they are little things like diet and exercise that change everything. Good luck!
