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Doctors have tied heart health to the abdomen, and having extra pounds around one’s middle can be detrimental to cardiovascular well-being.
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The way to a person’s heart may
be through his or her stomach
in more ways than one. Doctors
have tied heart health to the abdomen,
and having extra pounds around one’s
middle can be detrimental to cardiovascular
well-being.
Excess visceral fat in the belly, something
doctors refer to as “central adiposity,”
may have potentially dangerous
consequences. While the link between
belly fat and heart health has long been
associated with men, women may be
even more vulnerable to the adverse
health effects of belly fat. A study published
in March 2018 in the Journal of
the American Heart Association examined
500,000 people between the
ages of 40 and 69. Participants had
their body measurements taken, and
then were kept track of for heart attack
occurrence over the next seven years.
During that period, the women who
carried more weight around their middles
(measured by waist circumference,
waist-to-hip ratio or waist-to-height ratio)
had a 10 to 20 percent greater risk
of heart attack than women who were
just heavier over all.
Belly fat is particularly dangerous
because it doesn’t just include the insulating,
or subcutaneous, fat under the
skin. It is largely visceral fat that also
surrounds the organs in the abdomen.
Harvard Medical School reports that
visceral fat is metabolically active and
has been strongly linked to a host of serious
diseases, including heart disease,
diabetes, cancer and dementia. Visceral
fat is like an endocrine organ that
secretes hormones and a host of other
chemicals linked to diseases that can
affect adults. One substance is called
retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4),
which has been tied to an increased
risk of coronary heart disease. In 2015,
a study published in the Annals of Internal
Medicine found that normalweight
people with excessive belly fat
had a higher risk of dying of heart disease
or any other cause compared with
people without central obesity.
The online health and wellness resource
Medical News Today says doctors
determine belly fat to be a problem
when a woman’s waist measures 35
inches or more and a man’s 40 inches
or more. MRIs also can be used as a fat
analyzer and will be judged on a scale
of 1 to 59. A measurement of 13 and
under is desirable.
As people age, they may have to
make more drastic changes to their diets
and exercise regimens to counteract
changes in their metabolism. Eliminating
sugary beverages, watching portion
sizes, counting calories, doing moderate
aerobic activity daily, and choosing
healthier foods can help tame visceral
fat. Also, doctors may recommend
those who are stressed to try stressbusting
techniques since stress also
may be tied to excessive belly fat.
Belly fat should not be overlooked because
its presence can greatly increase
a person’s risk for various diseases.
Schneps Media TVG January 3, 2019 15