What is abdominal obesity and how to deal with it? Answered by a doctor

general practitioner

What is abdominal obesity? How can it be managed?

Abdominal obesity is a disease in which excess fatty tissue accumulates in the torso and internal organs. The rate of obesity in the world is striking because there is no difference between the level of economic development of the countries where statistics are collected – the prevalence rates are high everywhere.

What is abdominal obesity

In most people, about 90% of body fat is subcutaneous fat. And the fat that forms the silhouette of the abdomen is also subcutaneous fat. The remaining 10% (called abdominal, visceral, or intra-abdominal fat) is found under the abdominal wall. They are found in the spaces surrounding the liver, covering the intestines and other internal organs.

One of the most important developments in the study of the human body is the discovery that fat cells work like an endocrine system. That is, they secrete hormones and other molecules that affect the rest of the tissues. Visceral fat is involved in the production of proteins called cytokines, which can cause inflammation, are risk factors for heart disease and other chronic diseases. It also produces a substance that narrows blood vessels, thereby increasing blood pressure.

What are the dangers of abdominal obesity

Abdominal obesity increases the risk of obesity, type II diabetes and hypertension, myocardial ischemia and stroke.

Adipocytes – fat cells – can accumulate around internal organs, not just in the subcutaneous fat in the abdomen and thighs. Visceral fat is most dangerous because it is considered hormonally active, causes metabolic disorders in the form of insulin resistance, contributes to the manifestation of pathologically increased appetite.

In addition, against the background of progressive recruitment of visceral and subcutaneous fat, the functions of sex hormones are disturbed, the cardiovascular system suffers, osteoporosis and other diseases rapidly progress.

Other parts of the body in abdominal obesity may have no fat layer. BMI is important but not absolute. For example, for children in the process of growth, people over 65 years of age, athletes and people with very developed muscles, and pregnant women.

How to recognize that you have abdominal obesity

Diagnosing obesity is the task of the treating physician. Unfortunately, the cause may be much deeper than an unbalanced or excessive diet.

General physical examination. This step includes collecting family medical history, measuring height, checking vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure and temperature, and checking major organ system indicators. After this, the patient is then involved in the diagnosis of individual body characteristics.

Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculation. A BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese. A BMI above 30 increases health risks. The index should be rechecked at least once a year – this will help predict the likelihood of developing certain diseases and what treatments work or don’t work for the patient.

Waist circumference measurement. Abdominal fat can increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Women with a waist circumference of more than 89 centimeters and men with a circumference of more than 102 centimeters have more health risks than people with smaller measurements. As with BMI, waist circumference is worth checking at least once a year.

How to combat abdominal obesity

Introduce adequate physical activity. Exercise can help reduce waist circumference. Even if you don’t lose weight, you lose visceral fat on internal organs and gain muscle mass. At least 30 minutes of brisk walking or bicycling at a relaxed pace can already make a difference in your health. Your routine tasks can be adapted and made more active. For example, park farther away from work and walk the rest of the way, take the stairs instead of the elevator and walk while you talk on the phone.

Studies have shown that you can help reduce visceral fat or prevent its growth with both aerobic activity (such as brisk walking) and strength training (exercising with weights). Exercise also helps prevent back fat storage.

Think about the quality of your food. Choose a balanced diet with a specialist to help you reach your healthy weight and maintain it.

Get plenty of sleep. Once again we’ll say it: not getting enough sleep is bad. A five-year study found that adults under the age of 40 who slept five or fewer hours a night accumulated significantly more visceral fat. But too much isn’t good either – young adults who slept more than eight hours also gained visceral fat.

Avoid stress. People who are often stressed tend to have more visceral fat, but not subcutaneous fat.

Forget about losing weight quickly. Liposuction for cosmetic correction of subcutaneous fat does not affect visceral fat and will not help in such a case.