It's summer, so naturally there are lots of stories in women's magazines on how to lose that "stubborn belly fat." (Because: miniskirts!) But what if the soft area around your belly button had good reason to resist leaving?
As it happens, that is true. any medical professionals even say that a woman's health may suffer if she had very toned abdominal muscles rather than any fat.
Let it now be known that a specific kind of abdominal fat is extremely dangerous. "There are two types of belly fat," explains Dr. Robin Berzin, founder of Parsley Health.
Subcutaneous fat is located in the space between the muscle and the skin, whereas visceral fat surrounds the internal organs of the abdomen. She warns that the most harmful fat is stored inside and that it is caused by a combination of a poor diet, excessive stress, and insufficient physical activity.
This is the kind of abdominal fat that gets all the negative press, says Dan Reardon, MBChB, co-founder of FitnessGenes. "Central obesity increases your risk of diabetes and insulin resistance, heart disease, and endocrine disorders," he emphasizes, adding that it is also associated with breast and ovarian malignancies.
This harmful inside fat is likely to be the cause if your waist is wider than your hips or if your belly is bloated. Subcutaneous fat is important for women's hormone balance, but "if you can feel fat on top of the muscle, that's external fat," as Dr. Berzin puts it.
Dr. Berzin notes that many women won't have enough estrogen since "fat makes estrogen" and they don't have enough fat on their bodies. You'll notice that when women grow excessively slim, they often lose their monthly cycle or are always weary.
Consequently, you may want to reevaluate your fitness objectives if the parade of unrealistically toned bodies on your Instagram feed has inspired you to crave a stomach that could cut glass.