Finding it difficult to lose those extra inches around your belly? It may be because you have too much visceral fat. Usually, two types of fat accumulate around your waistline: subcutaneous fat and visceral fat.

Subcutaneous fat is the soft, jiggly fat that collects just beneath your skin and that you can grab with your fingers. On the other hand, visceral fat is stored deeper, underneath the abdominal muscles, surrounding your internal organs like the stomach, liver, and intestines. It’s the visceral fat that is more dangerous to your health. Having too much visceral fat can increase your risk of high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Keep reading to know the causes of visceral fat and measures you can take to get rid of it.

What causes visceral fat?

Genetics and diet are the main culprits of visceral fat. Some people are genetically predisposed to become hormonally imbalanced, but eating too much processed and refined foods can cause hormonal switches to be turned on, which then causes your body to accumulate more and more fat. Other causes of visceral fat around your belly are:

• Lack of exercise: This means you’re consuming more calories than you burn
• Aging: Muscle mass decreases with age and this makes it more difficult to maintain a healthy weight. A decline in estrogen levels may lead to increased visceral fat in older women as the hormone supports fat distribution in the body.
• Excessive stress: Increase in the levels of stress hormone or cortisol can also cause accumulation of visceral fat.

How to measure visceral fat

Because visceral fat is stored under the muscle, you can neither see it nor feel it. But there are a few simple tests that can tell whether or not you are carrying dangerous levels of visceral fat around your midsection.

One way to measure if you have too much visceral fat is by calculating your BMI, or body mass index. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is classified as overweight, and 30 and above is considered obese. In both these situations, you’re likely to have a high amount of visceral fat, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Your waist circumference can also say a lot about visceral fat. According to Harvard Medical School, a man with a waist circumference of over 40 inches and a woman with a waist circumference over 35 inches or more are at high risk of having excess visceral fat.

How to get rid of visceral fat

Lifestyle changes including diet and exercise are the best non-surgical way to combat visceral fat. But diet makes up about 80% of the equation.

To reduce visceral fat, experts recommend controlling your total calorie intake, limiting refined sugar, and increasing the consumption of lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Try to eat 6 servings of veggies and 3 servings of fruits every day. Plus, one should also drink a lot of water to stop visceral fat from accumulating, and burn the fat that you’re already carrying.

Atkins or keto-type diets, which are high in protein and low in carbohydrates, are known to be effective for visceral fat reduction.

Exercise consistently and strictly follow these dietary changes to look slimmer and reduce your risk of developing dangerous health conditions. Regularly check your BMI and waist circumference to know if you are losing visceral fat.

 

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