Some people are still familiar with the term visceral fat. Actually, what is visceral fat? Visceral fat is the hidden fat that sits between the abdominal organs. This fat is usually found in several vital organs such as the liver, stomach, intestines, and arterial blood vessels. Visceral fat belongs to active fat that can usually cause problems in human health. What causes visceral fat? For that, see the explanation in this article about visceral fat, ranging from the cause to the way of measurement.
Causes of Visceral Fat Accumulation in the Body
Visceral fat or commonly referred to as belly fat is fat that can occur because many eat foods that are high in calories and fat, as well as lack of physical activity. This has an impact on the buildup of visceral fat in the abdominal cavity.
In addition to dietary factors, visceral fat can be caused by heredity. According to Health Direct, heredity has a function for people who have belly fat tend to store it on the stomach rather than the hips.
Visceral fat in women can occur with age and changes in fat storage. After menopause, a woman’s muscle mass will decrease so that her fat will increase. It will also lead to a buildup of more visceral fat in the abdomen. Meanwhile, in men visceral fat will occur also in age and genetics. Men who consume a lot of alcohol will experience more visceral fat buildup.
The presence of visceral fat makes the stomach look prominent or shaped like an apple. This will later produce chemicals and hormones that can be toxic to the body. If this poison is allowed it will affect the health of the body.
Visceral fat is more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. In addition, visceral fat is more common in men than women.
Health Problems Due to Visceral Fat
Visceral fat belongs to active fat. This fat is different from the subcutaneous fat that is under the skin. Visceral fat is fat that is hidden in the abdominal cavity if this is allowed to cause health problems in the body. Health problems that can be caused by visceral fat include:
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- High cholesterol
- Insulin resistration
- Dementia
- Cancer
- Asthma
- Liver disease
- Gallbladder and gout
- Fertility issues
- Low back pain
- Osteoarthritis
How to Know Visceral Fat in the Body
Visceral fat is a hidden fat located in the abdominal organs. That way, the presence of visceral fat cannot be felt or seen like subcutaneous fat. So to find out the presence of this fat can be done by way of CT scan or MRI. However, the cost of diagnosing visceral fat with a CT scan or MRI is expensive.
In addition to diagnosis with a CT scan or MRI, visceral fat can be measured by measurement of waist circumference. For women, the way visceral fat is measured through the waist is 35 inches or greater, so they can be at risk of experiencing health problems due to visceral fat. While men who are at risk of health problems in visceral fat have a waist circumference of 40 inches or greater.
This way of measuring the waist circumference we can do at home, if we want to know the amount of visceral fat on the body. This measurement uses a waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), the following ways:
- Position yourself standing up straight
- Find the smallest part of the waist to determine the navel then determine the waist circumference
- Next, find the widest part of the hip to determine the hips
- After that divide the waist circumference with the hip circumference. This is what will be used as a result of the waist-hip ratio (WHR).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the waist-to-hip ratio for women above 0.85 and men above 0.90 indicates abdominal obesity. This condition can later increase the risk of metabolic complications such as diabetes.
How to Prevent Visceral Fat
To reduce the buildup of visceral fat in the body, you can do some prevention in the following ways:
1. Diet
Visceral fat can be reduced by doing a diet program. A diet program can be started by eliminating high or processed foods as well as reducing foods that are high in sugar. In addition, you should also multiply your intake of lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.
2. Sport
Regular exercise can reduce the buildup of visceral fat in excess. With exercise is able to burn a lot of calories in the body slowly. So try to do exercise at least 30 minutes a day including cardio exercises and strength training.
3. Manage stress
Stress is the biggest factor in the visceral fat buildup. This happens because the stress hormone (cortisol) can increase the levels of visceral fat stored by the body. That way, reducing and managing stress will make it easier to reduce visceral fat.
Sell Body Fat Gauges
Fat in the body such as visceral fat can be measured using a tool called skinfold caliper. In Indonesia it self there is a manufacturer of this fat gauge, PT Solo Abadi Indonesia.
Skinfold caliper is an instrument or tool used to measure the thickness of skin folds. How to use this caliper skinfold is to clamp the tool on certain body parts such as the chest, subskapula, midaksilaris, supraciliac, abdomen, biceps, triceps, thighs, to calves.
PT Solo Abadi Indonesia produces caliper skinfold in two products, namely Harpenden Skinfold Caliper and Slim Guide Skinfold Caliper. For more information about both products, you can visit the Solo Abadi Indonesia website. You can also directly offer this caliper skinfold product through the ASK FOR PRICE link. You can also consult first through WhatsApp. Don’t forget to visit Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube Solo Abadi to get to know more about Solo Abadi products.
Read the next article on Measure Fat For Liposuction Procedure With Skinfold Caliper.
