Visceral fat array. Because full-body MRIs and CT scans are costly and infrequent, researchers employ waist circumference or waist size in relation to height (see "Gut check").
Cardiovascular illness.
Viscosity raises heart disease risk. High BP, sugar, triglycerides, poor HDL. Alterations in metabolism increase cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Dementia.
Early 40s women with the greatest abdominal obesity had three times the risk of dementia (including Alzheimer's) by their mid-70s to early 80s.
Asthma.
At normal weight, women with visceral fat (a waist circumference above 35 inches) were 37% more likely to develop asthma than those with smaller waists, according to a large California teacher study.
Breast cancer.
After analyzing many research, premenopausal women with abdominal obesity (the highest waist size relative to their height) had a higher risk of breast cancer.
Cancer of the colon
Fat people have three times more colorectal adenomas. The association was identified after risk assessment. Colon adenomatous polyps raise insulin resistance and cancer risk, researchers found.
Losing and preventing visceral belly fat
Genes, hormones, age, birth weight (smaller kids add belly fat later in life), and whether you've had children affect where you build fat.
Menopause alters young men's visceral fat. Birth weight, genes, and menopause are fixed. Visceral fat reduction is possible in several ways.
It reacts better to diet and exercise than hip and thigh fat because it's more easily converted into fatty acids. These methods may help: