Belly Fat and the Dangers of Visceral Fat Radio Segment with Suzie Cooney

of Suzie Trains Maui

TweetAugust 23, 2011Taken from the Maui Breakfast Club: Suzie Cooney of Suzie Trains Maui, Health & Fitness Segment every Tuesday morning at 7:38 am on KNUI 900 AM.  LISTEN HERE

Just the word visceral sounds bad and that it is. It’s not pretty and it’s deadly.  Also referred to as abdominal obesity or the “middle-age spread”.  The definition of visceral fat is basically subcutaneous fat that settles deep within the cavity walls of the abdominal area and also covers the abdominal organs. This condition can lead to many health concerns such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol,  hormone imbalances and even cancer.

An excerpt taken from the Harvard Medical School states this:

“One reason excess visceral fat is so harmful could be its location near the portal vein, which carries blood from the intestinal area to the liver. Substances released by visceral fat, including free fatty acids, enter the portal vein and travel to the liver, where they can influence the production of blood lipids. Visceral fat is directly linked with higher total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower HDL (good) cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance means that your body’s muscle and liver cells don’t respond adequately to normal levels of insulin, the pancreatic hormone that carries glucose into the body’s cells. Glucose levels in the blood rise, heightening the risk for diabetes.”

How does your waist measure up? Typical guidelines for men’s waistline: if  over 40 inches in diameter and for women over 35 inches are indicators that you may be dealing with this condition. Pinching more than an inch can be a concern.

Besides the role of over eating and a poor diet and lack of exercise  that plays in the main contributing factor leading to the accumulation of visceral fat, there may also be hereditary factors that also play a hand. Knowing this may help.

The good news  is there’s so much you can do to help avoid this condition. Getting your weight under control will help. Portion control and a healthy diet is first. Avoid all sugars and alcohol. ( See my article: Suzie’s Foods to Avoid ) Strength training or resistance training will aid in the elimination of visceral fat but most of all it will take some high-intensity cardio to assist in the breakdown of the visceral fat.

Start out with 30 minutes at a moderate intensity than work your way up to a much higher intensity of exercise. ( Always check with your physician first before embarking on a heavier work out regimen.) Remember, spot reducing does not work, this is a total body approach.

I hope you enjoyed the radio segment. A special thanks to the Maui Breakfast Club and to you for spreading the word and being healthy.  It does a body good.Tweet

Aloha,

Suzie Cooney, CPT owner of Suzie Trains Maui and Mental Health Advocate

Previous Radio Show: August 16th: Mental Wellness: Why We Need to Have “Hope” for Our Body’s Health and Our Mind’s Health Radio Segment with Suzie Cooney

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References:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Abdominal-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it.shtml

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/waist-size-linked-with-longevity/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/how-does-your-waist-measure-up/

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-visceral-fat.htm