Want to know your chances of staying healthy in the next decade? Measure your waist (with a soft tape 10 cm above your thigh, without pulling your belly in) – a figure above 90 cm for women and 100 cm for men means that you have abdominal fat reserves запасов.
In fact, the widening of the waist is associated with an increase in the amount of visceral fat surrounding the internal organs. The bad news is that this type of fat directly affects hormone levels – disrupting metabolism and leading to chronic disea
Abdominal fat – what is it?
Abdominal (or visceral) fat is stored fat within the abdominal cavity. Unlike subcutaneous fat that is soft to the touch, internal fat is a denser substance. You cannot feel it – it is hidden behind a layer of abdominal muscles of the press.
Statistics show that the presence of reserves of such fat is associated with a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension – as well as some types of cancer¹. Among other things, abdominal fat almost 3 times increases the risk of dementia2 (commonly called “senile dementia”).
The final point of the growth of abdominal fat is metabolic syndrome (a combination of severe obesity, diabetes and hypertension). In this case, your chances of living a long, fulfilling life are significantly reduced – and doctors advise you to drastically change your lifestyle.
Effects of Sugar on Increasing Fat
Gaining excess weight and the growth of abdominal fat is due not just to an excess of calories (against the background of a sedentary lifestyle) – but an excess of sugar and fast carbohydrates. On average, a modern person consumes 3 times more sugar than is allowed by the WHO recommendations.
But sugar has an interesting feature – its constituent glucose and fructose molecules are able to bind to proteins and fats of the human body, causing damage to them. Moreover, the processes accelerate sharply after reaching 35 years.
how exactly does sugar harm health and accelerate aging?
Glucose, fructose and insulin
An excess of sugar and fast carbohydrates in the diet increases blood glucose levels, which leads to excess production of insulin – and further loss of sensitivity to its action. In parallel, insulin increases the retention of sodium (the main component of salt) – which leads to hypertension.
To make matters worse, sweet baked goods, reconstituted fruit juices, and sugary soda contain fructose syrup instead of sugar. This substance is much more dangerous for metabolism, and it is extremely difficult for the body to resist its effects
How to get rid of abdominal fat?
Another bad news is that abdominal fat affects levels of the hormone leptin , which controls satiety. In the presence of a large amount of internal fat, the body seems to lose the ability to “see” this fat – but requires replenishment of completely unnecessary calories.
Trying to lose weight by restricting nutrition only exacerbates hormonal imbalances, minimizing leptin production – as a result, a person cannot achieve satiety and constantly feels hungry. This is the reason why dieting is so difficult.
