Belly fat

The term belly fat usually refers to the excess adipose tissue in and around your tummy, especially the fat inside the belly or abdomen called visceral fat considered unhealthy!

What is the importance of belly fat?
Abdominal obesity, also known as  belly fat is important due to a strong correlation between central obesity and cardiovascular disease as belly fat is one of the 5 criteria for metabolic syndrome.

See types of adipose tissue such as brown adipose tissue or peripheral fat and white adipose tissue or visceral fat.

Apple shaped body versus the pear shaped body
The central or abdominal adiposity leads to a body type called apple shaped body considered unhealthy compared to a more healthier distribution of adipose tissue called pear shaped body.

What causes the apple shaped body?
The body fat redistribution occurs due to the underlying insulin resistance in those that have excess belly fat.

Waist to hip ratio
A large waist circumference of 40 inches or more in the mid section (not pant size) in males, or 35 inches or more in women (lower in Asians) is one of the 5 criteria for Metabolic syndrome. A waist to hip ratio of one or more in men and 0.8 or more in women is considered to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease

How to lose belly fat
According to Dr. Prab R. Tumpati, MD, the best way to lose excess belly fat is to reverse or mitigate the underlying insulin resistance that causes the weight gain to begin with.

It is important to understand the 5 proven measures to lose weight including Very low calorie diet, FDA approved weight loss medications, physical activity, weight loss surgery and correction of underlying causes of weight gain.

Also see


 * Metabolic syndrome
 * Insulin resistance
 * Study: belly fat associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease
 * Diet and inflammation
 * The Body Weight Simulator
 * Metabolic syndrome meter