Measure your waistline at the level of the navel — not at the narrowest part of the torso — and always measure in the same place. According to official guidelines, the bottom of the tape measure should be level with the top of the right hip bone, or ilium — see the illustration — at the point where the ilium intersects a line dropped vertically from the center of the armpit.

Don't suck in your gut or pull the tape tight enough to compress the area. In women, a waist circumference of 35 inches or larger is generally considered a sign of excess visceral fat, but that may not apply if your overall body size is large.

Rather than focus on a single reading or absolute cut-off, keep an eye on whether your waist is growing are your pants getting snug at the waist? That should give you a good idea of whether you're gaining unhealthy visceral fat. Visceral fat can be measured in a variety of ways.

CT scans and full-body MRIs are the most precise, but they are expensive and rarely available, so investigators often use estimates based on waist circumference or waist size in proportion to height see "Gut check". To ensure that they're not just measuring overall obesity, researchers also check whether a person's waist circumference is higher than average for her or his body mass index BMI.

Cardiovascular disease. Several studies have documented this effect. For example, a large study of European women ages 45 to 79 concluded that those with the biggest waists and those with the largest waists in relation to their hip size had more than double the risk of developing heart disease.

The risk was still nearly double even after adjustment for several other risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, and BMI.

Higher visceral-fat volume also has a deleterious impact on several other heart disease risk factors. It's associated with higher blood pressure, blood sugar levels and triglyceride levels, and lower levels of HDL good cholesterol.

Taken together, these changes, known as metabolic syndrome, create a serious risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente found that people in their early 40s with the highest levels of abdominal fat, compared with those who had the least abdominal fat at that age, were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia including Alzheimer's disease by their mids to early 80s.

Dementia was not associated with increased thigh size. The risks were highest for women who were both large-waisted and overweight or obese. The investigators believe that belly fat raises the risk of asthma more than other poundage because it has inflammatory effects throughout the body, including in the airways.

Breast cancer. A combined analysis of several studies found that premenopausal women with abdominal obesity the largest waist size in proportion to their height were at greater risk for breast cancer. Large waists were also linked to breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women, but that effect was not significant once BMI was taken into account.

Colorectal cancer. People with the most visceral fat have three times the risk of developing colorectal adenomas precancerous polyps than those with the least visceral fat. The relationship was found after many other risks were accounted for. The researchers also confirmed that adenomatous polyps in the colon are associated with insulin resistance, which may be the mechanism that increases the cancer risk.

Where you tend to gain fat depends on your genes, your hormones, your age, your birth weight smaller babies more readily add belly fat later in life , and whether you've had children women who have given birth tend to develop more visceral fat than women who haven't.

As young adults, women on average have less visceral fat than men, but that changes with menopause. You can't change your birth weight or your genes, and you can't hold off menopause. But there are several ways you can minimize the accumulation of visceral fat. The good news is that because it's more readily metabolized into fatty acids, it responds more efficiently to diet and exercise than fat on the hips and thighs.

Here are some approaches that may help:. Keep moving. Exercise can help reduce your waist circumference. Even if you don't lose weight, you lose visceral belly fat and gain muscle mass. Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days, such as brisk walking or bicycling at a casual pace.

Also create opportunities to add motion to routine tasks. For example, park farther from your destination and walk the rest of the way, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and stand while you talk on the phone.

Studies have shown that you can help trim visceral fat or prevent its growth with both aerobic activity such as brisk walking and strength training exercising with weights. Spot exercises, such as sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles but won't get at visceral fat. Exercise can also help keep fat from coming back.

Eat right. Common culprits include refined carbohydrates and simple sugars—like those found in processed foods with added sugars.

Excess sodium can also cause bloating due to increased water retention. While there are plenty of healthy packaged foods out there, there are just as many that aren't as great. Opt for freshly prepared foods most of the time to help reduce your intake of processed, packaged foods that can cause belly bloat.

For example, swap a high-added-sugar bowl of cereal for a Green Smoothie made with fresh fruits and vegetables to get your day going in the morning. Protein serves a dual role in helping you reduce belly fat by increasing and maintaining muscle mass and metabolism, while also helping to stave off hunger.

Eating protein could also lead to increased satisfaction after a meal, which may help you eat fewer calories later in the day. This Chipotle Chicken Quinoa Burrito Bowl is a great lunch option to help you feel full and tide you over until your next meal. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that your body can't digest.

It helps regulate the body's use of sugar as it slowly passes through your digestive system. Increasing your daily fiber intake can result in greater satisfaction after meals since it helps fill you up.

Your blood sugar is less likely to spike and crash when you eat more fiber, too. Because of this, you'll stave off that "hangry" feeling, which means you won't be reaching for anything and everything in sight—which also reduces the number of total calories eaten for the day. When trying to lose belly fat, aim to get at least 25 grams of fiber in your diet each day.

Foods that are rich in fiber include pulses, like lentils and beans; apples and pears, with the skin; nuts and seeds; and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Try this recipe for Tabbouleh with Chickpeas for a fiber-packed side dish or a one-dish dinner!

In an ideal world, we would be able to target the exact part of our body we want to burn calories from—but that's not how it works.

Thankfully, there are a few exercises that are especially effective at burning fat from the belly area—and from the rest of your body. If your go-to warm-up or cardio workout is on the treadmill, try bumping up the incline of your machine. Walking on an incline burns up to How many extra calories you burn on an incline depends on speed and your weight.

You can also incorporate hills into outdoor workouts. Rather than a long and low-intensity cardio workout, try the HIIT method of exercise—intense, fast-paced intervals that can leave you completely exhausted after only a to minute session.

This form of cardio training also incorporates strength training exercises and increases the afterburn effect , allowing your body to continue burning calories after your workout is over. You can rotate between 30 seconds of your favorite exercises, with rest in between, as long as they work a variety of muscle groups—such as squats, push-ups and kettlebell swings.

You can lose belly fat but still have a weak core, so strengthening and toning your abs when trying to lose belly fat is crucial, as well. To make a traditional plank routine more challenging, add in side planks:.

Too little sleep —or too much of it—can throw your stress and regulatory hormones out of whack, which may lead to weight gain. A single night of sleep deprivation can increase levels of ghrelin, a hormone that promotes hunger, making you more likely to overeat the next day, according to a study in the journal Obesity.

Reduced sleep may also lead to fatigue during the day and less physical activity, which may be another reason why people who don't get enough sleep on a regular tend to gain weight.

If you're dehydrated , it can be hard to tell if you're hungry or just thirsty. If you're craving a midday snack, have a glass of water and wait a few minutes before reassessing your hunger level.

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Key facts Visceral fat, also known as toxic fat, is hidden inside your body on and around your vital organs. Visceral fat can cause health issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Visceral fat is caused by eating more calories than you burn and not moving enough.

A waist circumference of 80cm or more for females and 94 cm or more for males could mean that you have too much visceral fat. To prevent visceral fat, focus on maintaining a healthy balanced diet and keeping physically active. Back To Top.

General search results. Eating well during pregnancy and while breastfeeding has health benefits for you and your baby.

Even if you don't actually gain weight, your waistline can grow by inches as visceral fat pushes out against the abdominal wall. Visceral fat lies in the spaces between the abdominal organs and in an apron of tissue called the omentum.

Subcutaneous fat is located between the skin and the outer abdominal wall. Body fat, or adipose tissue, was once regarded as little more than a storage depot for fat blobs waiting passively to be used for energy.

But research has shown that fat cells — particularly visceral fat cells — are biologically active. One of the most important developments [since the mids] is the realization that the fat cell is an endocrine organ, secreting hormones and other molecules that have far-reaching effects on other tissues.

Before researchers recognized that fat acts as an endocrine gland, they thought that the main risk of visceral fat was influencing the production of cholesterol by releasing free fatty acids into the bloodstream and liver. We now know that there's far more to the story. Researchers have identified a host of chemicals that link visceral fat to a surprisingly wide variety of diseases.

Subcutaneous fat produces a higher proportion of beneficial molecules, and visceral fat a higher proportion of molecules with potentially deleterious health effects. Visceral fat makes more of the proteins called cytokines, which can trigger low-level inflammation, a risk factor for heart disease and other chronic conditions.

It also produces a precursor to angiotensin, a protein that causes blood vessels to constrict and blood pressure to rise. A tape measure is your best home option for keeping tabs on visceral fat.

Measure your waistline at the level of the navel — not at the narrowest part of the torso — and always measure in the same place.

According to official guidelines, the bottom of the tape measure should be level with the top of the right hip bone, or ilium — see the illustration — at the point where the ilium intersects a line dropped vertically from the center of the armpit.

Don't suck in your gut or pull the tape tight enough to compress the area. In women, a waist circumference of 35 inches or larger is generally considered a sign of excess visceral fat, but that may not apply if your overall body size is large.

Rather than focus on a single reading or absolute cut-off, keep an eye on whether your waist is growing are your pants getting snug at the waist? That should give you a good idea of whether you're gaining unhealthy visceral fat.

Visceral fat can be measured in a variety of ways. CT scans and full-body MRIs are the most precise, but they are expensive and rarely available, so investigators often use estimates based on waist circumference or waist size in proportion to height see "Gut check".

To ensure that they're not just measuring overall obesity, researchers also check whether a person's waist circumference is higher than average for her or his body mass index BMI.

Cardiovascular disease. Several studies have documented this effect. For example, a large study of European women ages 45 to 79 concluded that those with the biggest waists and those with the largest waists in relation to their hip size had more than double the risk of developing heart disease.

The risk was still nearly double even after adjustment for several other risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, and BMI. Higher visceral-fat volume also has a deleterious impact on several other heart disease risk factors. It's associated with higher blood pressure, blood sugar levels and triglyceride levels, and lower levels of HDL good cholesterol.

Taken together, these changes, known as metabolic syndrome, create a serious risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente found that people in their early 40s with the highest levels of abdominal fat, compared with those who had the least abdominal fat at that age, were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia including Alzheimer's disease by their mids to early 80s.

Dementia was not associated with increased thigh size. The risks were highest for women who were both large-waisted and overweight or obese. The investigators believe that belly fat raises the risk of asthma more than other poundage because it has inflammatory effects throughout the body, including in the airways.

Breast cancer. A combined analysis of several studies found that premenopausal women with abdominal obesity the largest waist size in proportion to their height were at greater risk for breast cancer.

Large waists were also linked to breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women, but that effect was not significant once BMI was taken into account. Colorectal cancer. People with the most visceral fat have three times the risk of developing colorectal adenomas precancerous polyps than those with the least visceral fat.

The relationship was found after many other risks were accounted for. The researchers also confirmed that adenomatous polyps in the colon are associated with insulin resistance, which may be the mechanism that increases the cancer risk. Where you tend to gain fat depends on your genes, your hormones, your age, your birth weight smaller babies more readily add belly fat later in life , and whether you've had children women who have given birth tend to develop more visceral fat than women who haven't.

As young adults, women on average have less visceral fat than men, but that changes with menopause. You can't change your birth weight or your genes, and you can't hold off menopause. In one six-year study, monkeys were fed either a diet rich in artificial trans fats or monounsaturated fats.

Fortunately, the Food and Drug Administration has realized the harm in trans fats. It has given food manufacturers three years from to either gradually remove trans fats from food products or apply for special approval Trans fats are incredibly bad for your health and linked to carrying more visceral fat.

Try limiting your intake of foods that contain trans fats, such as baked goods and potato chips. Studies have shown that a lack of sleep may increase your risk of visceral fat gain 54 , 55 , 56 , Additionally, several studies have linked sleep apnea, a condition that impairs breathing, with a higher risk of gaining visceral fat 59 , 60 , If you struggle to get enough sleep, try relaxing before bed or taking a magnesium supplement.

You can also find more proven tips here. Try to aim for at least 7 hours of sleep daily. Studies have shown that excess cortisol can increase visceral fat storage 63 , Women who already have large waists in proportion to their hips, which is a marker of visceral fat, tend to produce more cortisol when stressed A few proven strategies to reduce stress include exercising more, trying yoga or meditation or just spending more time with friends and family.

Studies have shown that chronic stress is linked to visceral fat gain. To relieve stress, try exercising more, yoga, meditation or more family time. Probiotics are live bacteria that can benefit your gut and digestive health. Some studies suggest that certain probiotics can help you lose weight and visceral fat.

They may reduce dietary fat absorption in the gut, increasing how much of it you excrete in feces In addition, probiotics may help promote higher levels of GLP-1, a fullness hormone, and ANGPTL4, a protein that may help reduce fat storage 68 , 69 , Studies have shown that some probiotic bacteria from the Lactobacillus family, such as Lactobacillus fermentum , Lactobacillus amylovorus , and especially Lactobacillus gasseri , may help you lose visceral fat 71 , 72 , For example, a study in healthy Japanese adults investigated the effects of taking Lactobacillus gasseri over a week period.

It found that people who took Lactobacillus gasseri lost 8. However, as soon as participants stopped taking the probiotic, they gained all of the visceral fat back within a month Interestingly, not all studies have shown that probiotics help weight loss. In fact, some studies have shown that certain strains of probiotics like Lactobacillus acidophilus may actually lead to weight gain 74 , Research in this area is quite new, so future studies will help clarify the link between probiotic bacteria like Lactobacillus gasseri and visceral fat.

Probiotics, especially Lactobacillus gasseri , may help you lose visceral fat. However, more research in this area is needed.

Intermittent fasting is a popular way to lose weight. Unlike dieting, intermittent fasting does not restrict any foods. It simply focuses on when you should eat them. Following an intermittent style of eating will generally make you eat fewer meals and, in turn, fewer calories.

Studies also show that intermittent fasting may help you lose visceral fat 76 , You can find out more about intermittent fasting and how to do it here. Visceral fat is incredibly harmful and may increase your risk of chronic disease, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and even certain cancers.

Some of these include eating fewer carbs and less added sugar, doing more aerobic exercise and increasing your protein intake. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

We all have belly fat, but having too much can harm your health. This article explains the different types of belly fat, how they affect your health…. Visceral fat is located near vital organs like the liver and stomach.

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Patients with diabetes who used GLP-1 drugs, including tirzepatide, semaglutide, dulaglutide, and exenatide had a decreased chance of being diagnosed…. Some studies suggest vaping may help manage your weight, but others show mixed….

The amount of time it takes to recover from weight loss surgery depends on the type of surgery and surgical technique you receive. New research suggests that running may not aid much with weight loss, but it can help you keep from gaining weight as you age.

Here's why. New research finds that bariatric surgery is an effective long-term treatment to help control high blood pressure. Most people associate stretch marks with weight gain, but you can also develop stretch marks from rapid weight loss.

A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic? How Well Do You Sleep? Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Nutrition Evidence Based How to Get Rid of Visceral Fat. By Ryan Raman, MS, RD — Updated on April 12, Visceral fat is directly linked with higher total cholesterol and LDL bad cholesterol, lower HDL good cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance means that your body's muscle and liver cells don't respond adequately to normal levels of insulin, the pancreatic hormone that carries glucose into the body's cells. Glucose levels in the blood rise, heightening the risk for diabetes.

Now for the good news. So what can we do about tubby tummies? A lot, it turns out. The starting point for bringing weight under control, in general, and combating abdominal fat, in particular, is regular moderate-intensity physical activity — at least 30 minutes per day and perhaps up to 60 minutes per day to control weight and lose belly fat.

Strength training exercising with weights may also help fight abdominal fat. Spot exercising, such as doing sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles, but it won't get at visceral fat. Diet is also important. Pay attention to portion size, and emphasize complex carbohydrates fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and lean protein over simple carbohydrates such as white bread, refined-grain pasta, and sugary drinks.

Replacing saturated fats and trans fats with polyunsaturated fats can also help. Scientists hope to develop drug treatments that target abdominal fat. For now, experts stress that lifestyle, especially exercise, is the very best way to fight visceral fat.

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