Abdominal
Weight Loss Helps More than Your Appearance
Both
women and men admire the appearance of strong, flat abdominal
muscles, yet the abdominal area is one of the hardest parts
of the body to train and reduce. While abdominal weight
loss will help you look fantastic in a swimsuit, losing
your belly fat can also help you avoid many serious health
problems that seem unrelated to how big your gut is.
Health
care providers are now emphasizing that abdominal weight
loss could help you have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes,
breast cancer, gallbladder problems, colorectal cancer,
high blood pressure, memory problems, and other age-related
degeneration. Abdominal weight loss is important to your
overall health because abdominal fat (also called visceral
fat) typically surrounds vital organs like the liver, kidneys,
and lungs. Abdominal fat crowds and squeezes these vital
organs, preventing them from doing their job and leading
to serious diseases.
Several
studies have shown that abdominal weight loss is best achieved
through moderate intensity to high intensity exercise. Researchers
found that people who walk or jog 12 miles per week were
successful in not putting on abdominal fat, while those
who jog about 20 miles per week actually achieved abdominal
weight loss and weight loss in other areas of their bodies.
The same studies found that abdominal weight loss was not
achieved through diet alone, nor was it achieved through
spot exercising like sit-ups.
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