Do you suffer from excess belly fat? Unfortunately, you are not alone – 54% of adults in the U.S. now have abdominal obesity. That is over half of the American adult population.
The Western diet and lifestyle is largely to blame. Of course processed foods and a lack of exercise at large are the biggest issues at hand, but studies done at universities across the country have pinpointed several food culprits specifically that could be contributing excessively to the belly fat epidemic.
If you are trying to get rid of that spare tire around your belly, it’s time to cut out these five foods:
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- Refined Grains
The term ‘refined grains’ doesn’t seem too threatening; however, these starchy carbs are going straight to your gut. Refined grains are found in foods like white rice, white bread, and regular white pasta. These are all delicious comfort foods, and luckily these have easy substitutions. Their unrefined counterparts, such as whole brown rice, whole wheat bread, and quinoa are a much healthier (and still delicious) choice.
- Potato Products
Some of America’s favorite foods are potato-based products: French fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes, hash browns, potato salad, etc. Although these calories are filling and satisfying, they are empty-carbs that digest quickly and provide little nutritional value. The New England Journal of Medicine published a study of 120,000 men and women whose diets were monitored for twenty years. Their weight was checked every four years and it was found that they gained an average of 3.35 lbs at each check in, which is nearly 17 lbs of weight gain over a twenty year period. The biggest food culprit for weight gain was found to be potatoes.
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- Red & Processed Meats
In the same study as the potato example above, the second biggest food culprit for weight gain was found to be red and processed meats. Those who ate more red and processed meats, such as steak, deli meats, bacon, hot dogs, hamburgers, etc., gained an extra pound of body fat every four years. Another study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found even scarier results: red meat eaters who ate the equivalent to a small steak per day gained about five pounds in just five years.
- Frosting
Yeah, we are talking about the stuff on top of those cupcakes your co-worker brought into the office today – don’t eat them! The FDA has basically declared war on trans-fats; however, store-bought frosting still contains a “not-so-healthy-dose of the stuff”. You may be wondering just how bad trans-fats are – Wake Forest University gave two groups of monkey’s two different diets: one ate trans-fats while the other ate unsaturated fats. At the end of the trial, the trans-fat group had increased their entire body weight by 7.2% in just six years, while the unsaturated fat group gained a mere 1.8% of their body weight. Look out for trans-fats hiding in other sneaky foods like pre-made baked goods, frozen pizzas, and various snack foods.
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- Diet Soda
Don’t be fooled by the ‘zero-calorie’ and ‘sugar-free’ labels plastered all over diet soda cans. Sugar substitutes are believed by many researchers to play a large role in weight gain, despite the fact that they can be found in many ‘diet’ foods across the supermarket.
Article Curated from:
Fox News
