Visceral fat is not perceptible to the eye because it is stored within the abdominal cavity, positioned near internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. Accumulating this type of fat can interfere with vital bodily processes, hiking your risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Losing belly is therefore a matter of priority if you are looking to live a long and healthy life.
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- How to get rid of visceral fat: Diet which burns fat
Engaging in regular exercise, along with eating a healthy diet, offers the most reliable route to reducing visceral fat.
While there is a broad consensus around the importance of exercise, what is less clear-cut is the best approach to burn belly fat.
Should you engage in moderate but prolonged exercise, or a shorter but more intense workout? Evidence suggests both deliver the same results.
A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that both levels of exercise will help you lose about the same amount of belly fat if you burn the same number of calories.
In the study, 300 people with abdominal obesity walked and jogged on treadmills at a moderate or high intensity, burning equivalent numbers of calories.
The 217 people who stuck through the study for the entire six months lost on average 1.75 inches from their waistlines — about five percent to six percent of body weight.
It made no material difference whether they opted for a more higher-intensity workout or a more moderate regimen.
In fact, the most important factor appears to be the frequency and duration of your exercise program.
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One study found that postmenopausal women lost more fat from all areas when they did aerobic exercise for 300 minutes per week, compared with those who exercised 150 minutes per week.
The innumerable benefits of aerobic exercise
There is a mountain of evidence that shows aerobic exercise is the most effective at attacking visceral fat.
Regular aerobic exercise offers a potent weapon against belly fat because it burns a lot of calories.
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- How to lose visceral fat: The cause of belly fat you could be missing
In fact, many studies have shown that aerobic exercise can help you lose visceral fat, even without dieting.
For example, an analysis of 15 studies in 852 people compared how well different types of exercise reduced visceral fat without dieting.
They found that moderate and high-intensity aerobic exercises were most effective at reducing visceral fat without dieting.
That said, combining regular aerobic exercise with a healthy diet is more effective at targeting visceral fat than doing either one alone.
“Choose a balanced diet that helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight,” advises Harvard Health.
Include plenty of calcium: according to study from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, the more calcium a female participants consumed, the less visceral fat they gained.
“Avoid products that seem to encourage belly fat deposition, including trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable oils) and fructose-sweetened foods and beverages,” added Harvard Health.
One less obvious tip
Improving your mood may also do the trick. In the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, middle-aged women who showed more hostility and had more depressive symptoms also had more visceral fat.
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