What Is Visceral Fat And Why You Should Know Yours

[Shela Stubbs]

Reviewed by: Alvar OcanoSystem specialist in Family MedicineSales1 July 2020Supported on January 17, 2023by AegonBible fat is an essential component of the body, with a number of necessary functions: protecting vital organs, damping joints, maintaining body temperature, storing vitamins and some nutrients and saving energy. We can define three types of fat in the body:

♪ Visceral fat: located in the abdomen, between the organs.
♪ Subcutaneous or peripheral fat, placed under the skin, superficially.
♪ Intermuscular fat, the least frequent, which is located between muscle fibers.

Visceral fat accumulates around the abdominal organs. It is much more dangerous than the usual subcutaneous fat and at the same time it is more difficult to remove.

You must consider, if you suffer this problem, that there is no last solution to remove the visceral fat layer as there is for subcutaneous fat with operations. This means that, or we apply means at our disposal, or we can hardly reduce or eliminate this problem.

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What is visceral fat and why is it dangerous?
Visceral fat is found in the area of the abdomen, between the organs, and is more resistant and tough, to protect them (since in the abdomen there is no bone protection as in the chest or skull). That is why visceral deposits play an important role in the protection of internal organs. But the total mass should never exceed 10% or 15% of the amount of body fat.

When visceral fat is accumulated above the recommended, it increases exponentially from risk to a good amount of disorders. From circulation and mobility problems in the legs, excess pressure and weight, to hormonal disorders, dysfunction in metabolic processes and, in extreme cases, heart problems due to the fat layer that covers the heart.

It is very important to understand that we speak of something different from subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat, in a simple definition, would help to replenish energy reserves, provides vitality and warms us when it is cold. It is stored in our body through food. However, an excess of food, coupled with other factors (stress, genetic inheritance, hormonal imbalances and, above all, unhealthy lifestyles) makes fat not stored in the subcutaneous layer, but does so directly near the internal organs. This is what the name of visceral fat would receive.

This increase in fat usually occurs first around the stomach. But it reaches all internal organs, from the liver, intestines, kidneys, genitals…

▪ Man has a greater predisposition to accumulate this type of visceral fat, while women store more subcutaneous fat.

Effects of visceral fat
The excess visceral fat has various effects. One of the most harmful is blocking the flow of blood to the internal organs. This makes the oxygen in the body unbalance, as the ventilation of the lungs gets worse. It is common for those who have a lot of visceral fat to have serious problems breathing and sleeping. Having a lot of relationship with a serious problem like sleep apnea.

Although there are genetic factors that predispose to have greater volume of abdominal fat, sedentary lifestyle, incorrect diet, or metabolic or hormonal disorders, provide a high risk of suffering this problem and its effects.

How to measure visceral fat?
When it becomes a medical problem directly, the best thing is to go to specialists who will be able to accurately determine our excess visceral fat. Both social security, and health insurance if you don’t want or can wait, can give you answers in this regard.

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However, you can relatively easily measure your state in this sense. It’s not complicated.

You must first measure your waist. The acceptable limits of visceral fats are placed in these two parameters:

* up to 88.9 cm for women
* up to 93.9 cm for men.

If you find yourself within these limits, you should not worry, but it will also depend on size, constitution, etc. Therefore it is interesting to learn to calculate a little further, in this case the coefficient. This isn’t complicated either. You should measure your hip, and divide the result between the measurement of the waist. If the result is greater than 0.88 if you’re a woman, and 0.95 if you’re a man, you’re out of the healthy range in terms of visceral fat.

How to remove visceral fat?
As we have already seen, bad habits lead us to accumulate more visceral fat than necessary, so the correction of these habits will return us to the healthy path.

♪ Physical exercise: the physical activity burns the fat, although the visceral is more resistant, and forces an intense aerobic exercise (work, swimming, bicycle, dance, etc.). if combined with strength exercises (fishes), the burning of fats is enhanced.
♪ Food: it should be correct, both in calories and in its composition, reducing saturated fats, sugars and ultraprocessed foods, etc.

In short, it is essential to follow a healthy diet. When the problem is serious, it is convenient to get into the hands of a nutritionist who will advise us correctly. (Here we leave you some “Food myths and truths: how not to damage your health.”)

As a rule, you should increase the consumption of vegetables while reducing the consumption of animal and similar fats of vegetable origin. Also remove from your diet the substitutes for natural oils, and all that has to do with so-called trans fats.

Products with high glucemic index will also be restricted, when not prohibited. These products greatly increase the blood sugar content.

And as we have already advanced, in addition to improving your diet, it is basic to exercise. Should you loved this post and you would like to receive more information concerning best supplements for bodybuilding without side effects please visit our web site. It is not necessary to be an athlete to be able to consider reducing visceral fat. Walk, run, swim, are more than adequate exercises in this regard. Remember that bad food and lack of physical activity are the main allies of the increase of visceral fat.

أعربية Русский Learn more about “How Healthy Living habits Affect Us”

And if you are a customer, remember, through your Aegon e-Consultation App, you can consult in a direct and comfortable way, through chat, with your nutrition specialist.

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Doctor specializing in Family Medicine

Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, in the specialty of Family and Community Medicine, with more than 29 years of experience. In my training I also have a Master in Public Health and Epidemiology and a Master in Palliative Care.

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