Health Risks & Belly Fat
It's no secret now that fat and obesity lead to
health problems, but even more research has shown that belly fat is one
of the most dangerous kinds of fat.
So if you are one of those people who
are apple-shaped, meaning you tend to store more fat in your belly, you'll
want to pay attention to this.
According to a USA Today article,
people with larger middles tend to store hidden fat in their abdominals.
This fat often winds up gathering around vital organs.
This fat, also called intra-abdominal fat,
is linked to high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high insulin, high blood
pressure and many other problems.
The article also goes on to say that men whose waists are wider than
40 inches and women whose waists are wider than 36 inches are at the greatest
risk for developing these health conditions.
Breast Cancer Risk
Women who are overweight, particularly those who
store fat in their stomachs, have higher estrogen levels. As you may know,
breast cancer stems from excess estrogen production in the body. So researchers
are finding links between stomach fat and breast cancer.
Belly fat also leads to raised insulin levels in the body -- another condition
that links to breast cancer.
Diabetes Risk
Weight gain in your stomach and abdomen disturbs
your insulin production and increases your blood sugar levels. When this
happens, stress is put on your pancreas to make even more insulin.
In the long-run this will overwork your pancreas, causing it to wear out.
This is how diabetes develops.
Heart Disease Risk
Did you know that tummy fat raises your risk for
high blood cholesterol by as much as 50 percent? A Harvard study found
that women with a waist size larger than 31 inches were twice as likely
to suffer a heart attack as those with slimmer waistlines.
Without getting too scientific, as your
liver turns more blood sugar into fat, this fat enters your blood stream
and then dumps into the fatty cells inside your stomach and abdomen. This
causes your unhealthy cholesterol levels to rise, which in turn increases
your heart attack risk.
Varicose Veins
Excess belly fat can weigh down the veins in your
legs and make it difficult for blood to travel through them.
Veins act as one-way valves to prevent
the blood from flowing backwards. If the veins becomes
weak, blood can leak back into the vein and become clogged.
This is why a lot of overweight people
begin to develop varicose veins. They can be avoided with weight loss and
exercise.
Conclusion
Sorry, I couldn't make this page more cheerful, but sometimes the truth
hurts folks.
Health Risks & Belly Fat word
document file
