Use it to Lose it: Visceral Fat

Nutrition
Written By HeartVoice Marketing

Posted October 28 2022, By Justin Lim & Tarina

Let’s talk about body fat today - body fat can be classified into brown, beige, and white fat. While brown and beige fat can be easily burned to produce heat, white fat does not burn so easily. 

In humans, body fat in adults consists of mostly white fat. White fat has 2 specific classifications - They are visceral fat and subcutaneous fat [1,2]

Subcutaneous fat 

  • The layer of fat under your skin

Visceral fat  

  • The layer of fat surrounding your organs

Let’s Dive in a little deeper shall we?

Why is visceral fat not good for us? 

Research has shown that it is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality, meaning that the more visceral fat we have, the lower our life expectancy becomes. [4,5] Visceral fat cells are metabolically active cells, releasing hormones that can negatively affect the performance of your health. [6] Furthermore, high visceral fat levels are linked to a greater risk of insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, and a predictor of cancer risk. [7,8,9]

To find out if you carry excessive visceral fat, why not go for a health screening? 

Here are some ways to reduce visceral fat in your body [10,11,12]

  • Lower the intake of foods high in added sugar and swap them with the intake of fruits and vegetables.

  • Regular exercise - incorporate moderate to high-intensity exercise 3 times a week.
    30-60mins moderate or 30mins intense exercise per session.

  • Aim to achieve and maintain a healthy BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio.

If you are having trouble figuring out what and how to eat a little bit better, why not engage with a Diet Coach with nBuddy instead? Click here for nBuddy iOS and nBuddy Android

References:

  1. Nauli AM, Matin S. Why Do Men Accumulate Abdominal Visceral Fat?. Front Physiol. 2019;10:1486. Published 2019 Dec 5. doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.01486

  2. Harms M, Seale P. Brown and beige fat: development, function and therapeutic potential. Nat Med. 2013;19(10):1252-1263. doi:10.1038/nm.3361

  3. Kuk JL, Katzmarzyk PT, Nichaman MZ, Church TS, Blair SN, Ross R. Visceral fat is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in men. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006;14(2):336-341. doi:10.1038/oby.2006.43

  4. Saad RK, Ghezzawi M, Horanieh R, et al. Abdominal Visceral Adipose Tissue and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022;13:922931. Published 2022 Aug 22. doi:10.3389/fendo.2022.922931

  5. Beltrão FEL, Beltrão DCA, Carvalhal G, et al. Low muscle mass and high visceral fat mass predict mortality in patients hospitalized with moderate-to-severe COVID-19: a prospective study. Endocr Connect. 2022;11(10):e220290. Published 2022 Sep 26. doi:10.1530/EC-22-0290

  6. Le Magueresse-Battistoni B. Adipose Tissue and Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Does Sex Matter?. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(24):9403. Published 2020 Dec 15. doi:10.3390/ijerph17249403

  7. Zhang M, Hu T, Zhang S, Zhou L. Associations of Different Adipose Tissue Depots with Insulin Resistance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies. Sci Rep. 2015;5:18495. Published 2015 Dec 21. doi:10.1038/srep18495

  8. Gruzdeva O, Borodkina D, Uchasova E, Dyleva Y, Barbarash O. Localization of fat depots and cardiovascular risk. Lipids Health Dis. 2018;17(1):218. Published 2018 Sep 15. doi:10.1186/s12944-018-0856-8

  9. Barberio, A.M., Alareeki, A., Viner, B. et al. Central body fatness is a stronger predictor of cancer risk than overall body size. Nat Commun 10, 383 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-08159-w

  10. van Eekelen E, Geelen A, Alssema M, et al. Sweet Snacks Are Positively and Fruits and Vegetables Are Negatively Associated with Visceral or Liver Fat Content in Middle-Aged Men and Women. J Nutr. 2019;149(2):304-313. doi:10.1093/jn/nxy260

  11. Gadekar T, Dudeja P, Basu I, Vashisht S, Mukherji S. Correlation of visceral body fat with waist-hip ratio, waist circumference and body mass index in healthy adults: A cross sectional study. Med J Armed Forces India. 2020;76(1):41-46. doi:10.1016/j.mjafi.2017.12.001

  12. Chang YH, Yang HY, Shun SC. Effect of exercise intervention dosage on reducing visceral adipose tissue: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [published correction appears in Int J Obes (Lond). 2022 Apr;46(4):890]. Int J Obes (Lond). 2021;45(5):982-997. doi:10.1038/s41366-021-00767-9

HeartVoice Marketing
Previous

True Or False? MSG
Next

Healthier Hawker: Food ideas for breakfast!