There are two types of fat inside the body, namely subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is located under the skin and evenly distributed throughout the body. While visceral fat accumulates around the abdominal organs and intestines. The difference is that subcutaneous fat can be seen directly by pinching the skin, but to see visceral fat, certain medical procedures must be used.
Having too much of these two types of fat is not good for the body. However, when compared to subcutaneous fat, visceral fat has a greater chance of increasing the risk of serious health problems. Researchers believe that visceral fat is capable of producing certain proteins that can damage muscle fibers, and muscles and narrow blood vessels. Here are 5 diseases that can occur due to having excess visceral fat around the abdomen :
- Diabetes
There is a close link between excess belly fat and the risk of type 2 diabetes. One of the reasons mentioned in a 2017 research is that visceral fat can produce cytokine compounds. Cytokines are substances that are harmful to the body's immune system because they can make cells insensitive to the effects of insulin hormone as a regulator of blood sugar levels.
- High blood pressure
Cytokine produced by visceral fat also affects the ability of cells to regulate blood pressure. A study conducted on 10,000 adults in 2017 showed that an increase of 5% in body weight could increase the risk of developing high blood pressure by 34% for men and 28% for women.
- Heart attack
Having too much body fat is known to increase the risk of a heart attack. But people with excess fat in the middle of the body, as known as belly fat, have a higher risk of getting a heart attack when compared to people with excess fat that is evenly distributed throughout the body. What's more, people with an wide waist circumference are more likely to have a heart attack more than once, even if they're on therapy to lower their risk.
- Dementia
Too much fat can also affect a person's brain function. A study of 900,000 adults in 2019 showed that men with a waist circumference of more than 35 inches and women with a waist circumference of more than 33 inches had a much higher chance of developing dementia.
- Asthma
Having a large waist size can increase the risk of developing asthma, even for people with normal weight. Visceral fat can cause inflammation in several parts of the body. Accumulation of fat around the abdominal organs can also make it difficult for the lungs to breathe oxygen optimally because the space for movement is limited by fat deposits.
- Cancer
Women who have a waist circumference equal to the size of the hip circumference are four times more likely to develop breast cancer than women with a smaller waist circumference. In addition, excess belly fat can also increase the risk of colorectal cancer.
We can use the waist circumference as an initial picture of the presence of visceral fat deposits in the abdomen. A waist circumference of more than 31.5 inches or 80 cm is a sign of visceral fat accumulation for Asian women. The best way to prevent the accumulation of excess fat is to pay attention to eating habits and always adopt an active lifestyle with regular exercise.
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Sources :
Frysh, P., & Jaliman, D. (2021). What Is Visceral Fat? Nourish by WebMD. [online]. https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-is-visceral-fat
Leaf Group. (2022). The 6 Big Health Risks of Too Much Belly Fat. LIVESTRONG. [online]. https://www.livestrong.com/article/13723172-dangers-of-belly-fat/