| Successful weight loss isn't just about | | | | |
| pounds right? For one way to know if you're | | | | So there we are. Besides being something we |
| at your Happy Weight, the weight at which you | | | | don't like to see in the mirror, this kind of |
| look and feel your best, you have only to | | | | fat is actually dangerous. Fortunately, the |
| look in the mirror and try on or imagine | | | | doctors say it is also relatively easy to |
| yourself in a bikini or a Speedo. Nice | | | | release this kind of fat. Since those fat |
| picture? If there's a pronounced belly effect | | | | cells are so metabolically active, it |
| in this image, you're probably carrying too | | | | responds to proper diet and exercise, though |
| much visceral fat. That's fat we really want | | | | not to sit-ups and liposuction, natch. |
| to lose. | | | | |
| | | | The dietary warning flags go up for saturated |
| That's the fat that's actually inside your | | | | fats, the ones that are solid, like butter, |
| body, not just under the skin like | | | | lard, and animal fat. I bet you already knew |
| subcutaneous fat is. No, the visceral fat is | | | | to stay away from those, but now we have |
| wrapping itself around your liver and other | | | | another reason. |
| vitals. Not only that, it doesn't just sit | | | | |
| there quietly destroying your buff image. Oh | | | | But one of the best-studied ways to keep |
| no. Those fat cells are veritable factories, | | | | visceral fat from increasing with age and to |
| gushing bad hormones and spitting out factors | | | | even get it off once it's there is with |
| that shut down the production of the good | | | | exercise. Researchers at Duke University |
| ones. Recent studies have implicated excess | | | | Medical Center reported that overweight |
| visceral fat as increasing the risk of heart | | | | people in their study would gain about 8.6% |
| disease, diabetes, and, possibly, dementia | | | | in six months, or about 4 more pounds a year, |
| and some types of cancer. Not a pretty | | | | if they didn't exercise, much of it visceral |
| thought. | | | | fat, in an article published in the October, |
| | | | 2005, issue of the Journal of Applied |
| For instance, in a study on 27,000 people in | | | | Physiology. Duke exercise physiologist Cris |
| 52 countries, scientists found that the body | | | | Slentz, Ph.D., the lead author, said "We also |
| mass index, a commonly used indicator of | | | | found that a modest exercise program |
| obesity which uses a weight to height ratio, | | | | equivalent to a brisk 30-minute walk six |
| wasn't really different in people who had | | | | times a week can prevent accumulation of |
| heart attacks compared to those who didn't. | | | | visceral fat, while even more exercise can |
| But the waist-to-hip circumference ratio, a | | | | actually reverse the amount of visceral fat." |
| measurement of visceral fat, was | | | | |
| significantly higher in the heart attack | | | | The 30 minutes six times a week translates to |
| victims, regardless of gender or other risk | | | | about 12 miles a week of either brisk walking |
| factors. | | | | or jogging. At about 17 miles of jogging or |
| | | | the equivalent on various cardio machines, |
| So what's a good waist to hip ratio? There is | | | | the amount of visceral fat goes down. The |
| some controversy about this, but an | | | | next thing to study is the effect of adding |
| often-cited "ideal" value for women is 0.8 | | | | in some resistance or weight training and see |
| or less and 0.95 or less for men. It's like | | | | if that holds the visceral fat at bay or even |
| the "apple" or "pear" shape comparisons we've | | | | makes it go away faster. The people who |
| heard about before. | | | | participated in this study weren't allowed to |
| | | | change their diet so the researchers could |
| Other studies on show just as chilling | | | | study one thing at a time. But that doesn't |
| results for those high visceral fat with | | | | mean that we can't. |
| respect to risk for metabolic syndrome, | | | | |
| dementia, gallstones, breast cancer in women, | | | | Gotta to go find my tape measure, now. And my |
| and overall death in men. | | | | pedometer. See you later. |