With the increasing use of weight loss jabs, fat loss seems to be more of a focus than ever before, whether we like it or not. Putting appearances aside, though, what are the health consequences of accumulating fat in particular body parts, and what are the safest, most effective fat-loss methods if you don’t want to use Ozempic?
According to geneticist Giles Yeo, a professor of molecular neuroendocrinology at the University of Cambridge, there are two main forms of fat in our bodies. The majority of subcutaneous fat is found beneath the skin and tends to build up around the hips, thighs, rump, and underarms. He claims that it is the “healthier fat.”
Furthermore, subcutaneous “is not an issue – particularly if you store it in the periphery (arms legs, hips, buttocks, and thighs),” according to Adam Collins, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Surrey. He goes on to say that women “are better fat users in general and tend to have a better turnover of that fat than men.”
Then there is ectopic or visceral fat, “which tends to live around the organs,” according to Yeo. Everybody has some visceral fat, but if you have a lot of it, it can seem like, say, a beer belly. Visceral fat, which is linked to several metabolic disorders and diseases, is what you see in perfectly normal middle-aged men with generally rather slender arms and legs but a particularly tight beer belly.
These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, insulin resistance, and an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. More visceral fat in midlife has also been linked to an increased risk of dementia, according to recent studies.
You shouldn’t be too concerned if your fat wobbles.
According to Yeo, males typically gain more visceral fat than women, but this might alter after menopause when hormonal shifts cause them to retain more fat around the abdomen.
According to Collins, there is no assurance that a person with more visceral fat will also have more apparent fat. A sumo wrestler is the quintessential example of someone who has a lot of body fat but relatively little visceral fat.
“What’s more concerning is that some people have a lot of visceral fat but very little body fat.” For this reason, it is also known as “hidden fat.” It is possible, however, to be carrying too much of both kinds of fat.
How can one distinguish visceral fat from subcutaneous fat? “Just ask if it wobbles,” Yeo advises. “Fat that is not visceral can be stored around the abdomen, although it is typically unstable. If it’s shaky instead than tight, that’s the main distinction. In contrast to the fat that is closely packed next to the organs, which makes your belly appear tighter, if it is extremely unstable, it will be beneath the skin.
Another way to look at it is that you can be carrying more visceral fat than is good if you have a larger belly but slim arms and legs, he says.
Please focus on your neck and waist measurements rather than body fat percentages.
According to Collins, body fat percentages or BMI measurements might not be very useful in providing a complete picture of the health effects of excess body fat because the location of the fat is what matters most. According to him, “your waist circumference is a better indicator of how much visceral fat you might be carrying.” To assist you determine your waist-to-height ratio and get a sense of this, the NHS provides an online tool. Generally speaking, it advises attempting to maintain a waist circumference of less than half your height.
We all have a weight threshold (based on factors like age, sex, ethnicity, and genetics), according to Naveed Sattar, professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow. “Once we reach this threshold, we have so-called ectopic fat – which spills into metabolically important organs – such as the liver, pancreas, and muscle, as well as more fat around blood vessels, in and around the heart, and kidneys,” he says. This contributes to heart attacks, strokes, and type 2 diabetes.
In the meanwhile, he says, too much neck fat can physically exacerbate sleep apnea. Through a mechanical impact, such as fatty tongues that are more likely to collapse and obstruct the airway when people lie down to sleep, extra fat in the neck and around the epiglottis can cause sleep apnea. Losing weight makes this better.
The good news is that when you workout, hidden fat disappears first.
Yeo asserts, “You have no control over where you lose fat because you have no control over where you carry fat in your body.” “Where we are genetically inclined to lose fat, it comes off.” The good news from a health standpoint, however, is that visceral fat “is the most easily accessible fat to your body,” which means that when you exercise, it probably goes away quickest.
Keeping a calorie deficit, or “eating less and moving more so that you increase your daily energy expenditure,” is the essence of fat loss, he says. Over time, exercise will promote greater fat loss by “increasing your muscle mass and consequently your metabolic rate, or metabolism.”
Will increasing protein intake aid in weight loss? “Eating more protein will help you feel fuller, which means you may eat less in general because it’s more satiating,” Yeo explains. “Protein by itself does not burn fat.”
So, which is more crucial, exercise or diet? Both. “Yes, moderate activity burns fat, but even though it increases muscle mass and decreases fat, activity alone is a difficult way to lose weight,” Sateer explains. “For the majority of people, it involves making dietary adjustments to reduce weight in a sustainable manner, which, in turn, reduces ectopic fat in the liver, for instance, lowering your risk of metabolic disease.”
Try carbohydrate cycling or fasting to achieve a good night’s sleep.
Merav Mor, a physiologist and co-founder of the portable metabolic tracker Lumen, suggests intermittent fasting, which involves going without food for a period of time, or “carb cycling,” which alternates between days with low and high carbohydrate intake to enable the body to effectively switch between using fats and carbs for fuel when needed.
Try brisk walking, cycling, or swimming in addition to strength training to build stronger muscles and bones and increase lean body mass. Any exercise enhances mitochondrial function, which increases your efficiency in burning energy.
Our hunger hormones are greatly influenced by sleep; when we don’t get enough sleep, we frequently seek fatty or sugary snacks. Consistently getting good sleep lowers inflammation, improves insulin sensitivity, aligns the circadian cycle, and regulates hormones.