Will having a fat belly make you stupid? Do these 6 things to effectively reduce belly fat!

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered dietitian

Reviewer: Zhang Yu, researcher at Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

If you were to vote for the fattest part of the body, I guess many people would vote for the belly! Indeed, a fat belly makes people uncomfortable when sitting, lying down, or lying down, and it also affects the appearance when wearing clothes, which makes people very concerned! A fat belly not only affects the appearance, but also has adverse effects on health!

Figure 1 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

1. What are the dangers of having a fat belly?

Some people are fat all over their body; some people don't look fat, but their belly is very protruding. Don't take a big belly lightly, it may indicate that your visceral fat is already excessive, and if you leave it alone, it will be bad for your health.

Visceral fat is mainly distributed around the internal organs, such as liver fat, perirenal fat, epicardial fat, etc. Appropriate visceral fat can protect, fix and support the internal organs; however, once it exceeds the standard, it will increase the risk of many diseases, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, etc.

In 2023, a study on the impact of visceral fat on health was published in a Lancet journal: increased visceral fat and body mass index (BMI = weight/height squared) are causally related to decreased cognitive ability. For every 0.27 kg increase in visceral fat or 4.52 kg/m2 increase in total body fat, cognitive age declines by 0.7 years. Excessive obesity is an independent causal determinant of cognitive function in Asian populations. Preventing excessive obesity can help maintain or improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of dementia in the future.

Simply put, "the bigger the belly, the dumber the brain"!

2. How big a belly (waist circumference) is considered big?

Some people may wonder, how big is a big belly? If you are a man but your waist circumference is ≥ 90 cm, or if you are a woman but your waist circumference is ≥ 85 cm, then it is recommended that you reduce your belly!

3.How to measure waist circumference correctly?

How to measure waist circumference? Some people say "measure at the belly button", while others say "measure at the thinnest part of the waist". In fact, both of these statements are wrong.

The correct waist circumference measurement position is the horizontal position of the midpoint of the line connecting the lower edge of the costal arch and the iliac crest on both sides of the mid-axillary line. Just lightly touch the soft tape to the skin. Relax when measuring and do not suck in your stomach, as shown in the figure below.

Figure 2 is from Human Measurement Methods for Population Health Monitoring

4. Things you must do to reduce belly fat

If you find that your waistline is too large after measuring, you must put reducing your belly fat on your agenda for the sake of your health. How to do it? Here are some things to do!

(1) Control fructose intake: Foods with high sugar content are not only high in calories, but also increase blood sugar, making it easy for people to gain weight and accumulate fat in the abdomen. In particular, foods with high fructose content can easily increase visceral fat if eaten in large quantities. This is because the metabolic pathway of fructose is different from that of glucose. Our bodies can use glucose as energy, but only the liver can break down fructose. Therefore, if fructose is consumed too much, the liver will not be able to process the fructose in time, which will increase the accumulation of fat in the liver, leading to visceral fat accumulation and abdominal obesity.

Foods with high fructose content in life mainly include: ① Honey. Don’t think honey water is very healthy, 75.6% of its ingredients are sugar; ② Fruits. The intake of fruits should be controlled at 200-350 grams per day, which is roughly equivalent to 2-3 kiwis/1 apple/3 Korla pears/7 large strawberries; Watermelons, lychees, bananas, Hami melons, etc. are rich in fructose. It’s okay to eat them in moderation, but “don’t be too showy”!

It is worth noting that when eating fruits, try to eat the whole fruit and do not make it into juice to avoid increasing free sugars, which will more easily increase visceral fat.

(2) Eat less refined carbohydrates: Staple foods based on refined rice and white flour are not conducive to blood sugar control and can easily lead to visceral fat accumulation. It is recommended to combine coarse and fine staple foods, such as oatmeal rice, brown rice, mixed bean rice, buckwheat rice, etc. are all good choices.

(3) Drink less: People who love to drink usually have a bigger belly. This is because drinking too much will increase the amount of abdominal fat and visceral fat. Especially drinking beer and spirits will increase visceral fat more. Therefore, try not to drink; if you really have to drink, you must control the amount.

(4) Exercise more: Exercising more can help you lose weight and reduce abdominal fat. Studies have shown that aerobic exercise such as brisk walking combined with exercises specifically targeting the abdomen can significantly reduce abdominal fat. For example, do sit-ups at 9 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 3 sets in total, 30 in each set, with 1 minute between each set; and brisk walk for 30 minutes at 9 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, covering a distance of about 3,000 meters.

Figure 3 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

(5) Reduce stress: Too much stress will increase the secretion of cortisol in the body, reduce metabolism, and ultimately lead to excessive visceral fat, making it easier to gain weight in the belly. Therefore, you should adjust your mentality in time and don’t let yourself be too stressed.

(6) Don’t stay up late: Sufficient sleep is the key to helping us reduce visceral fat. A study found that increasing sleep time from 6 hours to 8 hours can help reduce excess visceral fat by 25%.

Reminder: Although you need to reduce your belly for health reasons, it is not necessary to reduce it to a "flat surface". It is normal to have a slight bulge in your belly when you are relaxed!

References:

[1] Sun Boyu, Zhang Bing, Lin Zhijian, et al. Research progress on abdominal obesity[J]. Chinese Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2015, 33(1):80-83.

[2]Mina T, Yew YW, Ng HK, et al. Adiposity impacts cognitive function in Asian populations: an epidemiological and Mendelian Randomization study[J]. Lancet Reg Health West Pac, 2023, Feb 14, 33:100710.

[3] Yang Yuexin, Ge Keyou. Chinese Nutrition Science Encyclopedia 2nd Edition (Volume 2)[M]. People's Medical Publishing House, 2019.

[4] Han Jinxiang, Zhao Naiqian, Wang Li. Research progress on fructose-induced obesity and visceral fat accumulation[J]. Life Science, 2017, 29(8): 790-796.

[5]Larsen BA, Klinedinst BS, Le ST, et al. Beer, wine, and spirits differentially influence body composition in older white adults-a United Kingdom Biobank study. Obes Sci Pract, 2022, 8(5):641-656.

[6] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents[M]. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House. 2022.

[7] Sun Kanran. Effects of different exercise methods on abdominal fat of female college students[J]. Journal of Nanjing Institute of Physical Education (Natural Science Edition), 2014, 13(3): 30-33

[8]https://www.healthspectra.com/get-rid-of-visceral-fat/