Many generations have accepted as your age increases, sometimes your mid-line can right along with it. This is normally due to visceral fat that hides deep in your abdominal cavity. This fat is very different from subcutaneous fat. Which is what you can actually grab or squeeze with your hand and is much harder to target, burn off, and to avoid.
So, what if you are okay with these changes, and your new found size. Some people grow very comfortable to their normal lifestyle and eating habits. This might be well and good, but keep in mind the number of health risks that come along with a high amount of visceral fat. The two main ones, that can even be considered killers, are type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Sorry ladies, but on top of that you are also at a high risk for breast cancer and to possibly even need gallbladder surgery.
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Now that our generation is aware of all these medical conditions, what are we doing about it? Or what can you do to change your fate? First, determine what type of body shape you are. If you are pear shaped with fat accumulated in your lower body, then you most likely have subcutaneous fat. If instead you find yourself to have mainly fat resting around your abdomen, so have more of an apple shaped figure, then that is visceral fat. Where your fat decides to set up shop, is determined by several factors but two big causes are hormones and genetics.
Visceral fat luckily can be lost relatively easily with the correct exercise, diet, and motivation if desired. But, unfortunately that subcutaneous fat is a lot more difficult.
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It is key to think of your fat, whichever kind you have, so be a living endocrine gland or organ. It is constantly producing hormones and other chemical substances that can effect our health. Much research is left to be done, but one conclusion scientists and medical professionals have made is that excess body fat especially when in the abdominal reason is extremely disruptive to your body’s healthy and normal function of hormones.
Curated article from Harvard Health Publications.
Image Source: healthline