Abdominal Fat - Location, Location, Location

Just like real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. Two people who are equally overweight, with the same percentage of bodyfat, can have different risks of disease and fate if their bodyfat distribution is different.

Your waist to hip ratio is considered a valuable tool that helps you determine your overall health risk. People with more girth around their waist, particularly abdominal fat, are at increased risk of lifestyle related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes than those with weight around their hips. Although it is not a true measure of body composition it is a useful measure of fat distribution.

Use a measuring tape to check the waist and hip measurements.
- Measure your hip circumference at it's widest part.
- Measure your Waist Circumference at the belly button or just above it.

Waist to Hip Ratio is used as a measurement of obesity.

Using the Waist to Hip Ratio Calculator found under the resource tab of my website to find out your probable health risks. People with more weight around the waist, face more health risks than people who carry more weight around their hips.

It is calculated by measuring the smaller circumference of the natural waist, usually just above the belly button, and dividing by the hip circumference at its widest part of the buttocks or hip. The ratio is applied both to women and men.

But what about my stellar BMI?

Even though it has been established that visceral fat is key to accessing risk, current health guidelines are mostly based on body mass index (BMI), which doesn’t necessarily reflect visceral fat or fat at all.

While BMI does identify individuals who are over-weight, it has a few problems.

BMI doesn’t distinguish between fat and muscle. Many athletes like myself fall into the “overweight” or “obese” category. BMI doesn’t account for fat distribution. Remember, it's all about location, location, location.

Visceral vs subcutaneous fat

Abdominal fat includes subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is the fat you can pinch that sits under your skin. Abdominal subcutaneous fat is what separates you and your six-pack (it's that yellow stuff that is sucked out with liposuction).

Visceral fat sits deep behind your abdominal wall around your internal soft organs (aka the viscera). I bet you can understand why Visceral fat is more important than subcutaneous fat. Too much visceral fat has been linked to things like inflammation in your liver, arteries, and in your immune system which can lead to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, infertility and more. Visceral fat increases as we age, which is why many types of bodyfat calculations take our age into account.

To really get an understanding of how visceral fat is stored I urge you to view the video "You on a Diet" posted on my website.

Such a disorder is just another reason of how physical activity and proper diet can protect you from accumulating visceral fat.

Additionally, the higher, or wider the girth of the waist is on a male, the lower the testosterone, despite a low BMI. If you want to pick out men with low testosterone and with a high chance of being infertile, this is the group to go for.

Abdominal fat in men increases the conversion of testosterone into estrogen. As estrogen levels rise, so does the tendency to accumulate more abdominal fat, fueling the situation.

Signs that you may have low testosterone levels include a loss of muscle tissue and decreased strength, depression, stamina, drive and motivation. Next time you have your annual physical have your testosterone levels measured with a blood test, while researching this topic I found that you should ask for both your free and total testosterone to be measured. Why? The majority of testosterone is bound to sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) making it inactive.Supplements that help increase your natural testosterone.

The herb Tribulus terrestris may help raise levels by reducing the binding of testosterone to SHBG without side effects.

Zinc supplements may also help raise testosterone levels, as will weight training. Ensure sufficient intake of protein for healthy levels of testosterone too.

What gets rid of excess visceral fat?

The ONLY solution to losing and keeping your abdominal fat off for good is to combine a sound diet full of unprocessed foods with an intense exercise program. Not just any exercise program but one that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body for you to lose your fat.

Personal Training SF can show you how to get there via proper nutritional counseling and exercise programming, but I must encourage you NOT to start slowly. It is much better to make a sharp break from the past and a serious commitment towards the future.