What are the dangers of excess visceral fat in men?

For obese men who want to lose weight, where do they want to lose the most? The most popular answer is the belly. Most middle-aged male friends who are getting fatter know how much trouble there is in having too much abdominal fat when they see their belly protruding day by day. So, what are the dangers of having too much visceral fat?

What is visceral fat?

An appropriate amount of visceral fat can support and protect the internal organs, while too much visceral fat occupies limited abdominal space, which will first compress the organs and affect their normal functions. In addition, due to the action of hormones, visceral fat is more likely to increase the formation of so-called "bad cholesterol" in blood vessels than subcutaneous fat, while increasing insulin resistance and leading to elevated insulin. Therefore, the risk of diabetes, atherosclerosis, gout and other diseases caused by visceral fat is greater than that of subcutaneous fat.

When people are resting, the fatty acids in the blood mainly come from the decomposition of subcutaneous fat. However, the characteristic of visceral fat is that when it is stimulated by excitement (especially exercise), the decomposition rate is several times that of subcutaneous fat.

Therefore, compared with women, if middle-aged men have excess energy, they will store it as visceral fat first, so their waistline grows very quickly. However, as long as they control their diet and increase exercise to create a negative energy balance, the proportion of visceral fat lost will be higher than that of subcutaneous fat, which can be said to be "fast in, fast out". Therefore, on the one hand, some people who do not look very fat may have excessive visceral fat. On the other hand, it can also be said that when you lose weight, even if your body appearance does not change much, as long as you lose weight (if you are doing physical exercise, your weight may not change because your muscles become firm), but your visceral fat will decrease, which will definitely help your health.

So, how do you judge whether you have excessive visceral fat? A simple method is to measure the waist-to-hip ratio. People with a larger waist-to-hip ratio are more likely to have excessive visceral fat. The specific measurement method is: the horizontal circumference of the body measured at the most raised part of the buttocks is the hip circumference. If the ratio of waist circumference to hip circumference is >0.9 for men and >0.8 for women, it can be diagnosed as central obesity. However, many people with central obesity also have excessive subcutaneous fat. Therefore, the most accurate method is to do a computer tomography scan, magnetic resonance imaging device or ultrasound test in the hospital, which can clearly distinguish.

What should you do if your visceral fat exceeds the standard? In this case, you need to pay attention to the following points:

1. Pay attention to the glycemic index of food, eat more whole grains, beans, vegetables and fruits, and control the total energy intake;

2. Eat less or no fried foods and avoid sweet drinks;

3. Avoid frequent and heavy drinking;

4. Replace some meat with soy products;

5. Do appropriate exercise and avoid sitting still or staying up late. You can do running, swimming, cycling, dancing, etc. The important thing is to find the right exercise for you and stick to it for a long time. Especially ball sports, which can promote the secretion of adrenaline while consuming energy. This hormone has the effect of promoting fat decomposition. It should be noted that each exercise should last for more than 40 minutes or one hour.