Visceral fat, sounds wicked doesn’t it? It’s the level of fat that circles the internal organs of your abdomen. In other words it’s your “pot belly” or “beer gut.” Excesses of fat are risk factors for heart illness and Type 2 diabetes.
What causes stomach fat so important over other kinds of body fat are the inflammatory molecules that visceral fat creates and goes into the bloodstream. These inflammatory molecules circulate through the body and can start a situation recognized as metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome presents with symptoms such as elevated blood pressure and decreased HDL cholesterol.
The first and most common suggestion to fight metabolic syndrome is to create alterations in lifestyle, specifically to decrease calories in the diet and increase activity levels. A new research by the University of Illinois has presented that exercise alone may be just as effective as the mixture of diet and exercise.
The twelve-week research was done on rats in four divisions: a sedentary control division, a diet-only group, an exercise-only group, and a group that combined a low fat diet combined with exercise. The only big differences in the visceral fat in the mice at the conclusion of the study were seen in the two divisions that incorporated exercise. Even though the exercise-only group maintained a high fat diet, the exercise established to be enough to decrease the inflammatory belly fat.
This is encouraging news for individuals with a “pot belly” who are starting to show symptoms of metabolic syndrome. The exercise program created for the study was at a very unexceptional level. The human equal of the exercise would be a 30 to 45 minute walk five days each week. The same amount of exercise is recommended by the U.S. Department of Health to reduce the risk of other chronic diseases.
Health benefits can be reached for most individuals by taking on physical activity. This research furthers that claim by presenting direct connection between exercise and reduced abdominal fat. It’s just additional evidence that you must set aside time in your life for a bit of physical activity each day.
Jason Myers is a professional writer and he writes mostly about diet and fitness news. He’s also interested in giving diet tips for everyone.
