According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1.9 billion persons were overweight or obese in 2016. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle may be tough if your life is hectic and stressful. Many causes, including stress, bad eating, technology dependency, sedentary lifestyle, and easy access to fast food, have all contributed to belly obesity.
Belly fat is one of the most difficult fats to lose. To get rid of stubborn belly fat, you must develop a long-term, healthy practice. Making minor adjustments in your life may impact your overall weight and the amount of belly fat you have. A rise in belly fat may suggest a variety of health concerns, including diabetes, heart disease, and liver damage.
According to a recent study, men’s and women’s bodies react differently to abdominal fat. While belly fat in males is associated with cardiovascular disease, disease resistance, and high blood pressure, Harvard Health Publishing reports that belly fat in women is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, illness resistance, and high blood pressure.
A hip-to-waist and BMI study reveals that women had an 18% higher likelihood of having a heart attack than males. It may also raise the risk of Type 2 diabetes and breast cancer in women.
Types of Belly Fat
Visceral fat and subcutaneous fat are the two forms of abdominal fat.
Visceral fat surrounds the organs, whereas subcutaneous fat is located just under the skin. Subcutaneous adipose tissue is generally harmless. However, visceral fat has been linked to several diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, liver damage, gallbladder problems, and dementia.
Furthermore, visceral adipose tissue is “metabolically active.” To put it another way, they have more cells, blood vessels, and nerves than subcutaneous adipose tissue.
Increased abdominal fat is linked to increased triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels and decreased HDL cholesterol levels. This fat is caused by various causes, including the kind of food eaten.
Why Do People Get Excessive Belly Fat?
There are many reasons why people develop belly fat. These include:
1. Poor Diet
A diet high in improper kinds of foods may contribute significantly to belly fat gain. A low protein, high carbohydrate diet, for example, may have a significant impact on weight. Furthermore, carbohydrates such as bread, sweets, and drinks might affect the body by decreasing metabolism. It may also impair your capacity to burn fat efficiently.
As a consequence, fat accumulates in the abdomen area. Furthermore, certain fats, such as trans fats and saturated fatty acids, are harmful to the body. These fats are found in meals such as fast food, baked products, and unhealthy snacks.
2. Lack of Physical Activity
Another major cause of excess abdominal fat is a lack of exercise. According to one research, a lack of proper exercise had a higher effect on belly fat than calorie intake. Consuming more calories than you expend may result in fat accumulation in your body. It gets increasingly difficult to decrease fat as it accumulates in the body.
3. Irregular Sleep Schedule
An inconsistent sleep pattern has an indirect effect on weight accumulation, particularly abdominal fat. According to one research, those who have irregular sleeping habits are more prone to engage in harmful eating behaviours such as binge eating or emotional eating. Binge eating is a coping technique for some people who are stressed out due to a lack of sleep.
Furthermore, having less sleep may make you feel more anxious. Sleep deprivation causes a sluggish metabolism and an unhealthy digestive system, which does not properly burn fat.
4. Genetics
Our genetics are the sole risk factor over which we have no control. Some genes improve a person’s tendency to accumulate fat in the abdominal area, regardless of whether they are overweight or not. Furthermore, our genetics may impact how efficiently our bodies metabolise fat. Some people struggle to shed weight, particularly belly fat, because of their slow metabolism.
5. Stress
Chronically stressed people have a continual discharge of cortisol in their circulation. Cortisol prepares the body for emergencies and ensures survival. Unfortunately, this survival mode does not take proper digestion into account. As a consequence, our metabolism slows.
As a result, rather than processing lipids, this hormone accumulates fat, particularly belly fat. Not to mention that stress may lead to poor eating and sleeping habits, all of which contribute to an increase in belly fat.
6. Consuming Excessive Alcohol
A research found that excessive or binge-drinking alcohol causes an increase in fat tissue in the body. Adipose tissue, or fat tissue, is more prone to accumulate in the abdomen. Excessive drinking causes hunger, which leads to binge eating (mostly unhealthy and fast food).
It occurs as a result of alcohol’s ability to promote the release of neurotransmitters such as opioids and GABA. These neurotransmitters increase the sensation of hunger in the body. Furthermore, alcohol raises the levels of hormones associated with satiety. They prevent the production of enzymes that are necessary for proper carbohydrate digestion.
How to lose belly fat in a healthy way?
1. Improve Your Diet
A balanced diet may significantly enhance health and contribute to a reduction in belly fat. A diet rich in lean proteins, complex carbs, healthy fats, nutrients, minerals, and soluble fibre has been shown to improve health. Making better dietary choices is one method to do this. Let’s have a look at some methods to boost your nutrition.
2. Introduce complex carbohydrates to your diet
Instead of white bread, go for whole-wheat bread. Furthermore, instead of white rice, try brown rice. These whole-wheat food items are made using whole grains that have been minimally processed. Complex carbs give maximal nutrients and energy to the body while also increasing satiation.
Beans, peas, legumes, fruits, and vegetables are examples of complex carbohydrates.
3. Eliminate sugar from your diet
Reducing refined sugar consumption might hasten the process of losing abdominal fat. According to research, there is a definite link between sugar intake and increasing belly fat.
Fructose (particularly in sugar) has been shown to promote adipose distribution in the belly. As a consequence, it makes it more difficult for your metabolism to destroy the fat in that area. Furthermore, fructose promotes the expression of particular genes that promote fat production in the body.
You can swap refined sugar for healthier alternatives. Replace sugary beverages like soda with fruit juices or flavoured water, for example. You may also use natural sugar-free sweeteners, honey, or jaggery.
4. Increase protein intake
Increasing your protein consumption may make you feel fuller, boost your metabolism, and help you keep muscle mass. Furthermore, the research found a link between increased lean protein consumption and reduced belly fat.
This state is caused by enhanced thermogenesis after the consumption of lean proteins. To put it simply, the rate of calorie burn after protein eating was greater than after carbohydrate consumption. Meat, eggs, fish, beans, lentils, dairy (or dairy substitutes), and yoghurt are all acceptable sources of healthful proteins.
5. Introduce soluble fibre to your diet
Soluble fibre passes through our intestines undigested, aiding in weight reduction. It helps us feel full and decreases the number of calories our bodies can absorb. Furthermore, it lengthens the time between meals, reducing the amount of food eaten.
Oats, lentils, berries, flax seeds, and fresh fruits and vegetables are all good sources of dietary fibre.
6. Exercise
Exercising for at least 30-40 minutes every day may significantly enhance health. Some abdominal workouts are designed to help you lose belly fat. However, it is not feasible to target or spot-reduce fat in any part of the body. So, the only method to reduce fat is to attack fat in all areas of your body at the same time.
It is feasible to work out your complete body by combining the activities listed below. You may shed abdominal fat as a result of this therapy. The crucial word here is consistency, not intensity.
7. Aerobic exercises
Aerobic workouts, such as cardio, are among the most efficient strategies to lose belly fat. The research found a clear correlation between aerobic activities and a decrease in visceral abdominal fat.
Swimming, cycling, running, and brisk walking are all examples of cardio workouts.
8. High-intensity interval training
High-intensity interval training is an exercise plan that consists of alternating between high-intensity and low-intensity workouts with rest intervals in between. As a result, it is yet another efficient technique to lose weight and burn abdominal fat. Jumping jacks, burpees, squatting, deadlifting, and other exercises are examples.
Wrapping It Up
Excess belly fat may be caused by a lack of exercise, a bad diet, smoking, stress, a poor sleep routine, and hereditary factors. The simplest and most efficient strategy to lose abdominal fat is to go from a stressed to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
Include a regular fitness routine that includes aerobics, weight lifting, belly exercises, and intense training. A nutritious diet is essential for losing abdominal fat. Make a deliberate decision. Replace appetising and processed foods with complex carbs, soluble fibres, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Furthermore, avoiding sweets and smoking might significantly boost your chances of losing abdominal fat. Many online fad diets promise to swiftly decrease belly fat. They are, however, ineffective in the long term. So, keep a healthy lifestyle and enjoy the pleasure of living a healthy and happy existence.