Belly fat is maligned for its way of tampering with any outfit that doesn't involve a muumuu, but really there's something way worse about the stuff: When white fat expands in your abdomen, nestling deep among your organs, it sets you up for some serious health trouble. We now know that this type of fat, called visceral fat, churns out stress hormones like cortisol and inflammatory substances called cytokines that affect the body's production of insulin. The result: It's worse than just being generally overweight; you're looking at increased risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
How Much Belly Fat Do You Have?
The most precise way to determine how much visceral fat you have is to get a CT scan or MRI. But there's a much simpler, low-cost way to check.
Get a measuring tape, wrap it around your waist at your belly button, and check your girth. Do it while you're standing up, and make sure the tape measure is level.
For your health's sake, you want your waist size to be less than 35 inches if you're a woman and less than 40 inches if you're a man.
Having a "pear shape" -- bigger hips and thighs -- is considered safer than an "apple shape," which describes a wider waistline.
“What we’re really pointing to with the apple versus pear,” Hairston says, "is that, if you have more abdominal fat, it’s probably an indicator that you have more visceral fat."
Trying to lose belly fat, try these expert tips.
Never stop moving
There's one thing to like about visceral fat: It yields fairly easily to aerobic exercise. Vaporizing calories via running, biking, swimming—anything that gets your heartrate up—wins over resistance training when it comes to getting rid of the stuff. A recent study from Duke found the sweet spot: Jogging the equivalent of 12 miles a week will help you lose belly fat.
Pound the polyunsaturates
This just in: Saturated fat packs on more visceral fat than polyunsaturated ones, according to a Swedish study published this past February. When subjects ate 750 more calories daily for seven weeks, either in the form of palm oil (saturated) or sunflower oil (polyunsaturated), the former gained more visceral fat while the latter gained more muscle mass and less body fat. You know the deal: polyunsaturated fats are the ones in nuts, seeds, and fish and can help you lose belly fat.
Pucker up
Obese people who consumed a tablespoon or two of vinegar daily for eight weeks showed significant decreases in body fat, particularly visceral fat, according to a 2009 Japanese study. "One theory is that the acetic acid in the vinegar produces proteins that burn up fat," explains Pamela Peeke, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland and author of Fight Fat After 40.
Try Yoga
Postmenopausal women who tried yoga for 16 weeks reported significant reductions in visceral fat in one 2012 study. Or, if you're just not that into downward dog, any sort of relaxation exercise, even simple deep breathing, can help—the key is to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is linked to belly fat.
Get fussy about fiber
As in, make sure you're eating a lot of it. In a 2011 trial, subjects who increased their soluble fiber intake by 10 grams a day (the equivalent of two small apples, one cup of green peas, and one half cup of pinto beans) reduced visceral fat by 3.7% after five years.
Sleep Properly
Routinely squeaking by on five hours or less per night increases visceral fat levels, according to a 2010 Wake Forest University study. As you likely already know, 8 is the number to aim for and is ideal for losing belly fat. Women who wake up and go to bed at the same time each evening have lower levels of body fat, according to a recent Brigham Young University study. Chaotic sleep habits cause your internal clock to go haywire, which in turn causes your body to secrete fat-storing hormones like cortisol.
Drink Tea
Moderate exercisers who stocked up on the antioxidants found in green tea—called catechins—were more likely to lose abdominal fat while exercising than those who didn't take them. One study put the daily dose at 625 mg—the equivalent of two or three eight-ounce cups of green tea.
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