8 things you didn’t know about belly fat

Abdominal fat affects the body more than we think and, therefore, here we provide 8 points with the most relevant and often little-known aspects of this type of fat. The aim is to remember the importance of controlling overweight, especially the fat located in the belly, to avoid problems such as diabetes or erectile dysfunction, among others.

1. Belly fat can affect men’s sex lives. Men who have a significant accumulation of abdominal fat, the well-known beer belly, have less muscle mass and their energy levels and libido decrease compared to men who are in shape. In addition, one of the main consequences of diabetes in men is erectile dysfunction, which ends up affecting 30-50% of those who suffer from the disease.
2. The waist circumference is a good indicator of health in our body: With a maximum established of 88 cm in women and 102 cm in men, exceeding these measures indicates that the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and / or diabetes is 3 times higher compared to those who do not reach these dimensions. In turn, the accumulation of fat in the abdomen increases the risk of mortality by 20%.
3. Belly fat is more metabolically active. There are two types of fat, the one that is subcutaneous that is deposited under the skin and does not carry health problems at normal levels, and the metabolically active one that is deposited mainly in the abdominal area. From DiaproKal® they warn that this fat is easy to eliminate at first, but if it is deposited for a long time in the abdominal area, it costs more to eliminate, leading to complications in the body’s organs and increasing insulin resistance, leading to a greater lack of control of blood sugar.
4. People with accumulation of abdominal fat are more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes. Abdominal fat increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Men with a waist circumference greater than 102 cm are 22 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, while women with a waist greater than 88 cm are almost 32 times more likely chances of developing this disease.
5. Reducing abdominal fat is a good option to control type 2 diabetes.Losing weight is a very good option to control or prevent type 2 diabetes. For this, there are weight loss treatments under medical control.
6. The accumulation of fat in the abdominal area is more common in men than women. Women generally accumulate their body fat around the hips, buttocks and thighs, which does not directly affect internal organs. On the other hand, most of the men concentrate it in their abdominal area, becoming a problem for their health.
7. Diabetics lose less abdominal fat than people who do not have diabetes. A study on physical exercise in diabetics revealed that in the same period of time and with the same physical exercises, diabetics only lost 4% of their abdominal fat, while people who did not suffer from this disease reduced their levels by 13%. This is why it is important that weight loss treatments for diabetics also target CP reduction.
8. The location of the fat is more important than the total amount of fat stored. Experts recall the importance of controlling the waist circumference (CP) as an indicator of health, since recent research confirms that the location of fat in the body is more important than the amount of fat stored, since that which accumulates in the abdomen it is the one that favors the appearance of serious chronic diseases mainly.