The bad news about visceral fat is that it can accumulate quickly. A Duke University study found that after just eight weeks of no exercise, a group of overweight men and women showed significant increases in visceral fat. The good news about visceral fat is that regular moderate physical activity can help prevent it and regular vigorous physical activity can help get rid of it.
Body fat comes in two varieties. There’s subcutaneous fat, a noticeable layer of fat that lies just below the skin, and then there’s visceral fat, which is buried beneath the muscles. Visceral fat is considered to be the more worrisome variety because it is associated with a higher rate of heart disease. Men tend to have more visceral fat, while women carry more subcutaneous fat.
Visceral fat can go largely unnoticed because it’s not visible to the naked eye. One effective way researchers can locate visceral fat is by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) , which uses magnetic fields and radio waves to take a picture of the inside of the abdomen. Researchers can use this picture to estimate the amount of visceral fat a person is carrying.
Your genetic makeup is responsible for the some amount of visceral fat you carry. Nevertheless, research shows that both your diet and your level of physical activity contribute to your level of visceral fat. People who consume large amounts of calories and people who perform little or no physical activity are likely to have high stores of visceral fat.
Short of talking to a physician into performing an MRI on your abdomen, how do you know how much of this unhealthy fat you have? Check your waistline. A trim waistline is a good indicator that you don’t have a large build-up of visceral fat. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has set the following cutoff points to identify people who are at high risk of developing obesity-related diseases:
Gender | Waist Circumference |
---|---|
Women | Greater than 88 centimeters (35 inches) |
Men | Greater than 102 centimeter (40 inches) |
If your measurements fall above these cutoff points, there is a good chance that you are carrying a dangerous amount of visceral fat. Even if your waist circumference does not exceed the cutoff value, making an effort to reduce your waistline can still significantly improve your health.
Increased visceral fat, which accumulates deep within the abdomen to surround organs like the liver and insulin-generating pancreas, can pose certain dangers to health, especially in those with a body mass index (BMI) above 30 kg/m 2(kilograms/meter squared) . Although men are more likely to be at risk than women of developing certain diseases, both should be aware of the dangers:
The health risks associated with extra abdominal fat increase with age (> 45 years in men and >55 in women), ethnicity (African-American, Hispanic, and Asian) and family history, as well as with behaviors like cigarette smoking and lack of physical activity. All of these risks factors can be altered with modifications in diet and lifestyle.
Research shows that people whose diets contain polyunsaturated fats in place of saturated fats have less visceral fat. Polyunsaturated fats are found in high concentrations in sunflower, corn, and soybean oils, as well as in fish. Also, just exercising moderately—doing things such as walking, swimming, or playing tennis—on most days of the week will help prevent visceral fat from accumulating. What’s even better is that doing regular bouts of vigorous exercise can reduce the amount of visceral fat you already have.
RESOURCES:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/bmi_dis.htm
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/choosing.htm
CANADIAN RESOURCES:
Health Canada
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/index_e.html
Healthy Living Unit
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/
References:
Duke University Medical Center website. Available at: http://news.mc.duke.edu/news/article.php?id=6599. Accessed on June 12, 2003.
DynaMed Editors. Obesity in adults. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what.php. Updated June 4, 2010. Accessed June 16, 2010..
Goodpasture B, Krishnaswami S, Harris T, et al. Obesity, regional body fat distribution, and the metabolic syndrome in older men and women. Arch Intern Med.2005; 165:777-783.
Guidelines on overweight and obesity: electronic textbook. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gove/guidelines/obesity/e_txtbk/txgd/4112.htm. Accessed on October 11, 2006.
Klein S. The case of visceral fat: argument for the defense. J Clin Invest. 2004; 113:1530-1532.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/ob_gdlns.pdf. Accessed on June 12, 2003.
National Institutes of Health website. Available at: http://odp.od.nih.gov/consensus/cons/101/101_statement.htm. Accessed on June 12, 2003.
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The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports website. Available at: http://www.fitness.gov/activity/activity7/heredity/heredity.html. Accessed on June 12, 2003.
Rendell M, Hulthen U, Tornquist C, et al. Relationship between abdominal fat compartments and glucose and lipid metabolism in early postmenopausal women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001; 86:744-749.
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Sung J, DeRegis JR, Bacher AC, et al. Lower dietary polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio is associated with visceral adiposity. Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Cardiology; March 30, 2003.
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Last reviewed June 2010 by Brian Randall, MD
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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