Visceral Fat

Table of Contents

• • Visceral Fat
  • Types of Body Fat
  • Ranges
  • Causes
  • Health Risks
  • How to Reduce?

According to human anatomy, Visceral fat is defined as an excess body fat stored within the abdominal adipose tissue. This stored fat is sometimes referred to as the active fat.

According to some research, it has been proved that this type of fat store excess energy, produce hormones and other inflammatory substances that help against the invading pathogen or other foreign substances. These fat cells also play a distinctive and potentially dangerous role in affecting the functioning of different cell organelles, tissues and other organ systems of the Human Body.

Visceral fat is in the form of a gel and is wrapped around major organs such as liver, pancreas, and intestines. Storing higher amounts of visceral fat is associated with increased risks of a number of health problems.

Also Read: Fats

Types of Body Fat

There are mainly two types of fats:

1. Visceral fat–The visceral fat is the extra fat, stored within the abdomen where other organs reside.
2. Subcutaneous fat — The subcutaneous fat is the fat that is stored just under the skin. For instance, the amount of fat that we find in the regions of the arms and legs. The fat stored around the belly could be the result of both visceral and subcutaneous types of fat.

Also Read: Structure and Functions of Skin

There is no direct way to determine how much fat is stored within the body and the type of stored fat – visceral or subcutaneous fat.

The computerized tomography scan (CT scan) could help doctors determine the amount of stored fat, but it is still not accurate and not cost-effective as a means of tracking on a month-to-month basis.

Instead of trying to find out how much of visible belly fat is visceral, just realize that big belly and large waistline would indicate the risk and seem unhealthy.

Visceral Fat Range

According to the above image, the green part, from 1 to 12 in the scale is indicated as the healthy level of visceral fat. While, the red part, starting from 12 to 60 would indicate an excess level, which means an individual needs to change your diet and start an exercise regimen.

Healthy Body Fat

The main causes of visceral fat or excessive storage of fat cells around the belly or abdominal cavity includes:

• Poor diet.
• Lack of sleep.
• Inflammation.
• Chronic stress.
• Hormonal changes.
• Consumption of Alcohol.
• Slow body’s metabolism.
• Lack of physical activities.
• Smoking and intake Tobacco products.
• Other Genetic and Environmental factors.

Also Read: Difference Between Saturated And Unsaturated Fats

Other causes of visceral fat or excessive storage of fat cells include:

• Body Fat According to the Age Group

Men with a waist circumference more than 40 inches and women with a waist circumference more than 35 inches are at an increased risk of visceral fat.

A larger quantity of visceral fat might expose to increased risks of the  following health conditions:

• Heart disease.
• Breast cancer.
• Type 2 diabetes.
• Colorectal cancer.
• Alzheimer’s disease.
• High blood pressure.
• Respiratory disorders.
• Abnormal cholesterol levels.

Research suggests that a healthy balanced diet will mostly lose white fat, which is different and tends to be lost or gained evenly all over the body.

Here are the following ways to reduce visceral fat.

• Good Sleep.
• Reduce Stress.
• Exercise Regularly.
• Include a balanced diet.
• Reduce the intake of sugar, refined carbohydrates, tobacco, and alcohol.
• Increase the intake of  Non-starchy Veggies, Fats, soluble fibres, low-carb diet and Proteins.

Also Read: Significance of Fiber In Diet

Discover more about what is visceral fat, its types, and its increased risks only at BYJU’S Biology.