Obesity is defined as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat. It is currently a major public health problem. In Catalonia, according to data from the 2020 Health Survey of Catalonia, half of the population aged 18 to 74 is overweight (overweight or obese).
“There are several areas where fat accumulates. Under the skin (subcutaneous fat), it is the first deposit that fills up. When it is saturated and there is no more capacity, then it appears in the abdomen, becoming visceral fat. This visceral fat settles between the organs, and also in the tissues (in the liver or in the pancreas), when it is called ectopic fat”, explains Ana de Hollanda, endocrinologist at the Hospital Clínic and coordinator of the Obesity Area of ??the Society Spanish School of Endocrinology and Nutrition (SEEN).
Women accumulate fat especially in the femoral zone and buttocks, which entails less cardiovascular risk; while men tend to present it in the abdominal area. “It is an important difference, because the fat in the abdomen is more metabolically active and is the one that generates the most harmful consequences,” says the doctor.
The belly is one of the points of the body that, when gaining weight, can generate complexes for some people. Not everyone accumulates fat in the same way; some people retain it more quickly, before the subcutaneous reservoirs are filled.
There are genetic and hormonal factors, for example. “When women reach menopause there is a general decrease in estrogen levels, which makes the distribution less favorable, that is, they also accumulate fat in the abdomen,” explains De Hollanda.
Many people express discomfort or displeasure with the shape of their belly, especially when, in spring and summer, it is time to put on their swimsuits. The dictatorship of aesthetics makes perfect bellies valued, with the “chocolate tablet”, not easy to achieve. But in most cases these fats do not represent a health problem, but rather a lack of affection for one’s own body, unresolved psychological complexes.
Medical scales establish recommended waist circumference limits. The recommended maximum for women is 88 centimeters, and 102 for men. “These figures tell us that there is a lot of intra-abdominal fat that contributes cardiovascular risk. This is the point at which you have to know if there is a risk to health ”, says the specialist.
Adipose tissue can be stable, normal, but also inflamed, and this inflammation can pose a risk. “What determines inflammation are the rest of the risk factors: if the person smokes, if the diet is based on fat…”.
There is a good group of diseases associated with excess body fat (and more if there is inflammation). “They are all metabolic complications, such as diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, dyslipidemia…”, points out the endocrinologist.
Joining the gym a month before the arrival of summer or going on a strict diet just a few weeks are not the measures that medical specialists advise. To reduce abdominal fat, and in this way feel better, it is necessary to incorporate healthy habits that we all know: balanced diet, physical exercise, sleeping the necessary hours… To what extent does all this affect and how much physical activity is effective? What foods should be reduced and which ones can we continue to eat?
Physical exercise
The WHO recommends doing 150 minutes a week of moderate to intense exercise. To determine that the activity is “moderate or intense”, according to De Hollanda, “we must reach a heart rate that requires physical effort. It must be individually calculated what heart rate range we should be in so that the exercise we do is considered moderate or intense. Going out for a walk is of no use to us. In addition, it is necessary to incorporate strength muscle exercise, lifting weights, so that the muscle remains metabolically active.”
Feeding
Regarding food, De Hollanda affirms that the Mediterranean diet is the one that has shown the greatest benefits. Some indications would be: eat vegetables twice a day, fish three times a week, legumes three or four times a week, nuts every day, local cuisine, avoid ultra-processed foods, avoid red meat (maximum once a week). . On the other hand, reducing sugar to the maximum is another indication of health, not obsessively, but within the type of lifestyle, eliminating processed foods and fruit juices, for example. “All this can be our medicine.”
Sleep well
Although it does not seem to us that the relationship is so direct, body fat also has a link with the hours we sleep. “Studies have been done in which the only change that was made between the groups of participants was that some group slept less, and they were the ones that gained weight, eating the same thing”, comments the specialist.
Stress
Stress also increases body fat, it is a determining factor. In general, it is not known “what are all the metabolic pathways that are altered by stress, but one is that of the cortisol hormone, which is what makes us pay attention when there is a dangerous situation. When there is a lot of stress there are many cortisol spikes, and this is very harmful to health. It is an anabolic hormone that causes us to accumulate more fat”, explains the endocrinologist at the Hospital Clínic.
Regular hours and according to our chronotype
Another of the medical indications to keep body fat at bay is to respect sleep and meal times. “We have many hormones that control the cycles. In the case of patients who work at night or in shifts, they have a greater risk of gaining weight due to the alteration of the chronotype rhythm”. Remember that each person has a chronotype, in relation to circadian rhythms. Some get up very early and go to bed early, while others are more in the evening or at night. Changing these rhythms takes its toll on our body, not only in terms of tiredness or health, but also in fat accumulation.
Read the original RAC1 article here.
