How To Tell If Your Belly Is Growing Too Fat

You may have noticed your belly growing fat but has it grown fat enough for you to be concerned about your health?

Getting a fat belly is particularly unhealthy when compared with gaining fat in other areas of your body. Extra belly fat increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer.

To tell if your belly is growing too fat and becoming a health risk you want to throw out the scale and pick up a measuring tape. The key to diagnosing whether your belly is growing too fat is to measure your waist-hip ratio (a measurement of the waist size divided by the hip size). To accurately determine your ratio, first measure around your waist at about the level of your belly button; don't hold your stomach in and don't pull the tape so tight that you indent the skin. Next you want to measure around the fullest area of your hips with your feet together. Divide your waist measurement by the measurement at your hips.

A waist-hip ratio above .85 for women and above .90 for men indicates a higher health risk.

Waist Measurement ÷ Hip Measurement = Waist-Hip Ratio

While it is not unusual to gain weight as you age due to a slower metabolism and less activity, a belly growing fat seems to have additional causes. Heredity may be one factor - you may simply have inherited a tendency to get a fat belly. Hormones are also important players for women. Hormones change after menopause and effect the way your body handles fat, depositing greater amounts in the belly.

Even though belly fat tends to be found deeper inside the body than fat that is found around the hips, thighs and butt it is all removed in the same way - through proper diet and exercise.

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