What Causes Belly Fat?

Belly fat is one of those words that I have learned to hate. Fat can be stored anywhere in the body. Where it deposits itself can vary from person to person. In some people fat is stored in the thigh and buttocks while in some other person fat is stored in the belly.

The factors that play a role in the place of fat deposition can be genetic inheritance or gender or age or a combination of all.

In general fat stored in the belly is most commonly found in men. This gives an apple shape appearance to the body. In women the fat in general is stored around buttocks, thigh and hip. This gives pear shape to the body. An interesting note of observation is that women can store fat around the belly especially after menopause. The reason for this is a change in female hormones. Whether it is men or women, they have to learn how to work on reducing the fat and increasing the metabolism to burn the fat.

Stress and belly fat
As per some research results we are bound to believe that belly fat is the result of stress. During stress a hormone in the adrenal glands called cortisol is released in the body. This corisol seems to be the reason behind the storage of fat around the abdomen resulting in belly fat.

Men develop a fat belly due to stress at any age whereas the women develop a fat belly due to stress only during the menopause age. Looking at what is causing your stress and addressing it will be the first goal in reducing belly fat.

Dangers of belly fat
Belly fat is considered a health risk for people whose basal metabolic index is 34. The fat that is stored around the belly is considered to be more dangerous when compared to the fat stored in the other regions like thigh, buttocks etc. Much research has shown that belly fat leads to high cholesterol level, hypertension, high sugar in blood, metabolic syndrome x and many heart complications.

This is the reason why some experts take in to account the waist circumference and place of distribution of fat while predicting possible health risks. One has to follow good weight loss habits as early as possible in order to avoid the possible dangers of belly fat.

Prevention of belly fat
If you are prone to increasing belly fat like I am, you need to watch your weight carefully. You must try to maintain your weight. You need to know what you are eating and what the calorie value of the food is. Consult a physician about your eating habits and tell them about your daily routine also. Then he/she will be able to guide you properly in how you cam maintain your weight.

Reducing belly fat
If you have belly fat already, it can be reduced. There are many rapid weight loss tips that are available. A good weight loss diet program should be combined with exercise. The two best tips available is to look at decreasing animal protein consumption and increasing dark leafy green vegetables. You also really need to look at how much you are exercising.

As far as exercise is concerned you need to do aerobic exercise and muscle building exercise alternatively for at least 6 times a week. Specific exercises aiming at toning and improving muscle function all over the body should be the focus.

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