Visceral Fat

What is Visceral Fat?

Visceral fat is the type of belly fat that is located deep within the abdominal cavity. Your stomach, liver, and intestines are among the vital organs it envelops. It is not the same as subcutaneous fat, which is fat that is located directly beneath the skin. Your health is really at greater risk from visceral fat. Visceral fat accumulation may be avoided most effectively with diet and exercise.

Visceral fat is a kind of body fat that surrounds your organs and is located deep inside your abdominal walls. Visceral fat in certain amounts is beneficial and protects your organs. However, your health may be at risk if you have too much visceral fat. Due to its active participation in bodily activities, visceral fat is frequently referred to as "active fat." Diabetes, heart disease, and stroke are among the major health problems that can result from having too much visceral fat.

Symptoms and Causes

What are the symptoms of visceral fat?

Although it can also suggest subcutaneous fat, the most noticeable indication of visceral fat is an expanding belly. You may have more visceral fat if you have a potbelly or are more "apple-shaped" than "pear-shaped," according to some research.

What causes visceral fat?

• You accumulate visceral fat due to a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Your body's form and the way it accumulates visceral fat are determined by your genes.

• Environmental variables like exercise and food, however, are also quite important. A sedentary lifestyle and a bad diet that includes a lot of fatty foods and carbs (sugars) are the main causes of visceral fat accumulation.

• But stress also plays a role. Stress causes your body to release the hormone cortisol. Your body's "fight-or-flight" reaction is triggered by elevated cortisol, which leads to an increase in visceral fat accumulation.

Diagnosis and Tests

How is visceral fat measured?

Healthcare professionals assess body fat according to certain norms. In Most cases, nearly 10% of your body fat is visceral fat. By taking 10% of your overall body fat percentage, you may determine your visceral fat level. Your visceral fat range will also be greater than advised if your body fat proportion is.

Ways to measure body fat:

• Measure your waist by wrapping a piece of tape around it, right above the hip bones. Women who are 35 inches or longer run the risk of developing health issues related to visceral fat. The figure is 40 inches or greater for guys.

• Measure both your hip and waist sizes (wrap a tape measure around the widest area of your hips) to get your waist-to-hip ratio. Calculate your hip-to-waist ratio. Abdominal obesity is indicated by a waist-to-hip ratio more than 0.85 for women and 0.90 for males.

• Your height and weight are used by the body mass index, or BMI, to determine your body fat percentage. A BMI of 30 or above may indicate overweight and a higher percentage of visceral fat in both men and women.

• The ratio of waist to height is calculated by dividing the two. A ratio of no more than 0.5 is considered healthy for both men and women. Some medical professionals favor the waist-to-height proportion. Other techniques are less successful in differentiating between subcutaneous and visceral fat.

Management and Treatment

How do you get rid of visceral fat?

• The greatest strategy to reduce visceral fat is to keep up a healthy lifestyle. By following the same diet and exercise regimens that you would use to reduce weight and body fat overall, you may also reduce your visceral fat level. Here are some strategies to lower visceral fat:

• Exercise: Make an effort to work out for at least half an hour each day. Strength and cardio training are examples of this. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a well-liked workout. HIIT exercises alternate between short bursts of high-intensity activity and rapid recuperation. You may burn fat more quickly with the resistance and aerobic workout that HIIT provides.

• Consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products. Limit processed foods, salt, trans fats, and refined sugars. By teaching your body to use fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates, low-carb diets like the ketogenic (or "keto") diet can help decrease visceral fat.

• A weight loss technique called intermittent fasting involves alternating between times when you eat and times when you don't. It could assist in lowering your visceral fat levels.

• Maintain proper sleep hygiene by getting a decent night's rest. Your risk of developing more visceral fat may rise if you don't get enough sleep. Aim for a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

• Reduce stress: Stress causes your body to release the hormone cortisol. Your body's "fight-or-flight" reaction is triggered by elevated cortisol, which leads to an increase in visceral fat accumulation. Try yoga or meditation to help you de-stress.

• Reduce the quantity of alcohol you consume since too much of it might cause your body to retain more visceral fat.

Living With

When should I see my healthcare provider?

Seeing your doctor on a regular basis is crucial. They are able to monitor your visceral fat as well as your body fat percentage. Get in touch with your provider if you do a home body fat measurement and the results are greater than what is advised. They can discuss the hazards to your health with you and suggest a healthy diet and exercise regimen.

References:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24147-visceral-fat