It’s been about a year since I last published an article on the subject of visceral fat, and the information just keeps piling up. I was thinking about that the other day. A few minutes later, I picked up my last copy of “Exercise Only For Men,” and on page 46 there was a column by Dr. Sam Sugar (I didn’t make this up) titled “Obesity is bad for the brain.” “.
It was new to me, so I read the article, took some notes, and did some research. Sure enough, a study conducted at the University of Florida (I myself failed archrival Florida State University in ’66) concluded that obesity in very young children may be linked to decreased intelligence in later years. Other studies by organizations like Kaiser Permanente and additional information from Harvard Medical School and sites like WebMD.com helped fill in some of the blanks.
I was curious about how the brain is affected by obesity and visceral fat. So I did some more research to update what I had written on ought-6, and found that, as I said then, visceral fat is a bad thing. What I didn’t expect was a couple of new problems that I discovered.
The dangers:
Visceral fat, also known as abdominal fat, abdominal fat, or intra-abdominal fat, has been known for some time to be a “usual suspect” in many cases of coronary heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, and a nasty little thing known as “Metabolic Syndrome.” “.
Metabolic syndrome is a condition in which the individual experiences a combination of insulin resistance, elevated cholesterol, and hypertension (high blood pressure). Since none of these things are good on their own and can contribute to other problems like diabetes and heart disease, it’s clear that having all three at the same time is a triple threat… and I DO mean a threat.
I talked about this a lot in my other article, but what I didn’t know at the time was the previously mentioned information that obesity, of which visceral fat is obviously a deadly component, is related not only to decreased intelligence in children, but it may be a factor (only “may” so far) in the development of Alzheimer’s disease in our older adult population.
Obesity in general, and visceral fat as a particularly evil part of that, can, over time, cause damage to our kidneys, heart, eyes, arteries, and yes, even our brain. In fact, a Swedish study linked a high body mass index (BMI) with an increased risk of actual loss of brain tissue in areas that control language, memory, and hearing.
Visceral fat:
As the alternative name “abdominal fat” implies, visceral fat is found in the abdominal cavity and surrounds several major organs. Unlike “subcutaneous fat” found under the skin, visceral fat secretes inflammatory hormones that can cause organ damage (heart, kidney, brain) at the cellular level. Thus, while obesity in general is a problem to treat, visceral fat (abdominal fat) in particular demands immediate and special attention.
You may have belly fat if:
Belly fat, visceral fat, abdominal fat… you name it… can really only be effectively located and measured by MRI. However, a general rule of thumb is that if a man has a waist of more than 40 inches, or a woman has a waist of more than 35 inches, they likely have a dangerous amount of visceral fat. To make matters worse, if nothing is done, visceral fat can accumulate at a rate of four pounds a year, and above age 45 for men, 55 for women, the risks also increase with age.
The solution:
Some things, you just can’t do anything about it. Genetics, for example, account for 30 to 60 percent of your tendency to accumulate belly fat. On the other hand, things like diet, activity level (yes, I’m talking about exercise), and smoking are all within your control and can be the deciding factors in the battle against belly fat.
Simply watching what you eat can be a step on the road to getting rid of belly fat, but it rarely works well on its own. While actions like switching from saturated to unsaturated fats (corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, fish) can go a long way in helping to reduce visceral fat, combating obesity on any level almost always involves a combination of healthy eating habits and regular exercise.
Studies show that regular exercise done at least five times a week for at least 30 minutes at a time will be the lowest level that can be used to reverse belly fat accumulation for most people. Lower-intensity exercise or less frequent exercise can stop the buildup of belly fat, but usually won’t reduce it. In fact, some studies have shown that just ten minutes a day could be enough to stop the accumulation of abdominal fat.
Visceral fat is not only unsightly, but it can be deadly as we have seen. However, the same tools of proper nutrition and regular exercise, which are important for overall health and weight management, can also be used to combat belly fat.