Weight and the accumulation of fat around the belly region, popularly referred to as belly fat, is something that everyone should give attention to.
It does not only disfigure your shape, but it leaves you at risk of various health issues that you could avoid.
However, while some persons are working hard to stay trim, with keeping belly fat away as a major focus, others are not.
Instead, they are busy working hard to expose their body to dangers of ill-health.
The health issues that go with belly fat or weight in the abdomen is deadly.
This fat should be kept aside as much as possible so that we will fulfil our dreams and aspirations.
‘Something Go Kill Man’
Just go out with a mind of taking note of how many persons you will come across with belly fat. The number is shocking.
Unfortunately, it is also leading to deaths.
When So Healthy first met Abbe and talked to him about his belly fat, he thought it was all targeted at selling products to him.
But few months down the line, reality hit him.
Abbe’s statement about death usually leaves one wondering if he gave value to his life at all.
“Something go kill man,” he will always say, but when asked how ready he was to die, he kept mute.
If you have dreams and desire to fulfil them, then staying alive should be one of your major pursuits.
He weighs over 100kg with his height not even up to 6 feet.
The last time we saw him after he slumped and was rushed to the hospital, fear was written all over his face.
He has started working out to lose weight.
If you have ever wondered what your belly fat was like, here is a way of measuring it – waist circumference and waist size compared to hip size, also known as the waist-to-hip ratio. See table.
Belly fat or weight around the abdomen and its dangers were first escalated by French physician Jean Vague.
Over 7 decades ago, he highlighted that persons with larger waist line had a higher risk of some diseases.
That research highlighted a few health issues that fat in the belly could cause.
1. Type 2 Diabetes
Jean Vague pointed out that “although an increase in total body fat is associated with an increase in health risk, the amount of abdominal fat, particularly when located within the abdominal cavity, has been associated with an increased risk of comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes”.
2. Premature Cardiovascular Disease/Cancer
Professor Vague also said that fat in the belly could increase the risk of stroke, sleep apnea, hypertension dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. It can increase risk of inflammation and some types of cancer.
This phenomenon is usually verified at any level of total body adiposity”.
3. Death
The eventual effect of the weight around the waist will lead to death, Vague further stressed.
Years, down the line, however, more studies showed other health risk that belly fat poses.
It is one thing to know your Body Mass Index (BMI), but there is something else that messes BMI up.
Interestingly, studies have shown that if a person maintained a good BMI, but have fat in the belly, there is also danger.
There is a likelihood of coming down with heart related disease and diabetes Type 2.
To ensure that you maintain a good waist line and increase chances of having a great health even as you age, there are few things you could do.
If you remember how Ras Kimono, a popular Nigerian musician looked before his death and how the former coach of Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi, also looked before he passed on, you will understand the tendency of belly fat to cause heart-related diseases.
Both were said to have slumped before their death and doctors have said that slumping is over 70% related to issues of the heart.
Blasting belly fat could appear difficult, especially if you do not know the right things to do to reduce it. Another reason it is difficult is that it is one thing that attacks already formed habits and ‘habits die hard’.
Many people think it is all about exercise, but to them, how tedious they feel exercise is, has always remained a hindrance.
But there are other great ways of losing belly fat.
Most persons that So Healthy has recommended these strategies to have seen results.
1. Increase Intake Of Protein
Protein has been identified as one nutrient that can reduce cravings by at least 60%, boost metabolism by 80–100 calories per day and help you eat fewer calories per day, at least up to 441 fewer.
Protein has proved to be great for weight loss, with studies showing it is the most effective diet adjustment that you can make.
2. Avoid Processed Sugar And Sweetened Drinks
This is one thing that has sneaked into people’s lives and has become a habit to the extent that some persons cannot eat rice or any other food at a restaurant without asking for a bottle of sweetened drink.
These are often carbonated drinks that upon digestion, they become fat in the body.
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Drinking sweetened drink while eating carbohydrate is like adding carb on carb.
At the end of the day, the body will not be able to totally digest them and the left over will remain in the body as fat.
Reducing sweetened drinks will help keep the stomach lining and liver free from fat deposits.
These deposits could sneak into the arteries and cause trouble for the heart or result in diabetes. Simply, this is too much sugar in the blood as a result of insulin resistance.
Sweetened drinks increase belly fat and liver fat, which leads to insulin resistance.
Honey is a healthier alternative to processed sugar. You can use honey to sweeten natural juices. If you have sweet fruits in the juice, you do not need to add honey.
3. Reduce Intake Of Carbohydrate
As mentioned earlier, carbohydrate is one of the reasons people have fat in the belly and reducing the intake of carbohydrate is one way to go.
What do we now eat if we take away carbohydrate from our meals? Many have asked So Healthy this question.
But we have recommendations that have also worked and they are backed by research results.
Reducing the amount of carbohydrate that you eat will not only help you lose weight it will also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
4. Eat Food Rich In Fibre
There are grains with carbohydrate, yet with minimal calories. You get full while the calories count is minimal and these grains should replace your regularly consumed foods with carbohydrate.
They are called viscous fibre grains and they have been identified as beneficial to people who want to lose belly fat.
Here are a few grains and fruits with viscous fibre that are very available in Nigeria.
Carrot, Red Kidney Beans, Pears, Broccoli, Sweet potatoes, Avocados, Guavas, Flaxseeds and Oats among others.
It is important to state here that shifting to viscous fibre has to be done with a gradual introduction to ensure the body could adjust to it.
5. Exercise Regularly
There is sadly no better way to maintain a great health, live long and stay away from diseases without adding exercise to it.
Exercise is part of the make-up of humans and adding that to our daily lives adds more benefit to our health.
The World Health Organisation recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week to maintain a great health.
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Exercises like sit-ups, dancing, planking, push-ups and skipping are great indoor workouts that you can adopt if, should you find it hard to go out to exercise.
Some times you may need to get a health coach or someone that would prompt you and place a demand on you. Accountability is necessary when one wants to lose weight.
This is because it requires attitude change to lose the fat in your belly or weight generally.