Santa's signature large, round belly is no laughing matter. A "beer gut" can indicate the existence of visceral fat - a factor contributing to high cholesterol and elevated blood pressure. This article explains briefly the significance and risks associated with visceral fat, and goes on to talk about a recent study suggesting exercise provides more benefit than diet in combating the pot belly.
Visceral fat, sounds evil doesn't it? It's the layer of fat that surrounds the internal organs of your abdomen. In simple words it's your "pot belly" or "beer gut." Excesses of visceral fat are risk factors for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
What makes belly fat so important over other types of body fat are the inflammatory molecules that visceral fat generates and releases into the bloodstream. These inflammatory molecules flow through the body and can cause a condition known as metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome presents with symptoms like elevated blood pressure and decreased HDL cholesterol.
The first and most common suggestion to fight metabolic syndrome is to make changes in daily lifestyle, namely to lower calories in the diet and boost activity levels. A new research by the University of Illinois has revealed that exercise alone may be just as effective as the mixture of diet and exercise.
The twelve-week study was conducted on rats in four groups: a sedentary control group, a diet-only group, an exercise-only group, and a group that combined a low fat diet with exercise. The only obvious differences in the visceral fat in the rats at the end of the research were found in the two groups that included exercise. Although the exercise-only group maintained a high fat diet, the exercise shown to be enough to reduce the inflammatory visceral fat.
This is encouraging news for people with a "pot belly" who are beginning to display symptoms of metabolic syndrome. The exercise program created for the research was at a very medium level. The human equivalent of the exercise would be a 30 to 45 minute walk five days a week. The same amount of exercise is recommended by the U.S. Department of Health to minimize the risk of other chronic diseases.
Health rewards can be obtained for most people by participating in physical activity. This research furthers that claim by displaying obvious correlation between exercise and decreased visceral fat. It just indicates that you should spend some time in your life for a bit of exercise each day.
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