Seven Causes of Belly Fat Resistance to Loss

Learn the facts about visceral fat

Belly fat is referred to in medicine as "visceral fat." The majority of the fat in our bodies is kept as subcutaneous fat, which is located immediately under the skin. Visceral fat is kept in the crevices between our internal organs, deep within the abdomen, behind the abdominal wall. Easy to grow, difficult to eliminate, and detrimental to human health is belly fat. Your chance of acquiring diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma, and even Alzheimer's disease rises if you have a waist measurement exceeding 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men. Here are seven reasons why belly fat is so difficult to eliminate, along with advice for doing so.

1. "Active fat" refers to belly fat.

In the middle of the 1990s, scientists discovered that visceral fat secretes hormones and other chemicals that have an impact on how the body functions. Inflammation brought on by these chemicals raises the risk of cancer, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses. Additionally, visceral fat secretes a protein that hinders the body's ability to utilize insulin efficiently, raising the risk of diabetes. The proximity of visceral fat to the liver may also encourage the liver to overproduce cholesterol, which increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks, and stroke.

2. We like wine and sweets.

When we consume more calories than we expend, we acquire both visceral and subcutaneous fat. Alcohol, sugary beverages, and sweet snacks are staples of the American diet. Additionally, they have little nutrients and a lot of calories. It is unfortunately challenging to reduce our consumption of certain meals due to our affection for them and their popularity in social situations. But when routinely indulging, it's almost hard to reduce large quantities of belly fat. Alcohol should be used in moderation, while sweet food and sugary beverages should only be consumed in moderation or on rare occasions.

3. Belly fat increases when estrogen levels are low.

After menopause, the waistlines of almost all women enlarge. Low estrogen levels seem to cause the belly to accumulate fat instead of the hips and thighs. After menopause, even women who don't gain weight often notice a widening of their waists. Gaining visceral fat associated with menopause may be temporarily stopped or avoided with hormone replacement treatment. Hormone treatment is not advised as a single method of treating belly fat since it raises the chance of getting cancer, cardiovascular disease, and dementia. You may learn more about the drawbacks and advantages of hormone replacement therapy from your doctor.

4. A diet by itself won't work.

Even though eating a nutritious diet is essential for weight loss, merely changing your eating habits is unlikely to result in a noticeable reduction in belly fat. Exercise is necessary for visceral weight loss. According to studies, losing abdominal fat may be prevented (or assisted) by walking for 30 minutes six days a week or 50 minutes a day, three times each week. Exercise stimulates the body to utilize calories for energy rather than storing them as fat, and it helps your liver utilise surrounding fat for energy, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

With her daughter in the background, an African American woman with her head in her hands seems anxious.

There is stress everywhere.

Our bodies produce the hormone cortisol when they are under stress. This hormone induces the body to accumulate fat around the internal organs and hastens the maturation of fat cells. Women who are sensitive to stress had greater cortisol levels and more belly fat than other women, according to a Yale University research. Stress reduction may lower cortisol levels and aid in preventing the development of visceral fat. Stress levels may be controlled by engaging in activities like prayer, meditation, nature walks, and socializing.

6. Some things are out of our control due to genetics.

Some individuals have a hereditary predisposition to carry extra weight in their abdominal regions. There is a strong chance that you will be "apple-shaped" like your mother, who carried the majority of her weight in her abdomen. Interesting new study reveals that your body's microbiota, which is made up of a variety of bacteria, may pass on a tendency for visceral obesity. Adult twins had comparable fecal microbiota, and these similarities were positively correlated with belly obesity, according to a research published in Genome Biology.

a young African American woman and her daughter are at the grocery store's juice section.

7. It's hard to eliminate added sweets.

The majority of prepackaged goods include added sugars, often in the form of high fructose corn syrup, including those you may not anticipate, such ketchup. Overconsumption of fructose may cause the body to retain fat in the liver and abdominal cavity since fructose is processed in the liver. Although research is ongoing, too much fructose may potentially contribute to insulin resistance. By consuming less sugary drinks, which are the main source of added sugar in the American diet, you may reduce the amount of added sugar you consume.