Men and belly fat: Why weight loss matters

Spare tire, beer belly, or middle-aged spread, whatever you want to call it, men who carry a few extra pounds in the belly area are not alone.  But this is one time where following the crowd is not recommended. Excess belly fat on anyone is not a barometer of health and for men it is trying to tell you to lose those extra pounds.  Carrying excess weight – especially belly fat – can be risky.

The danger of belly fat

It is one thing to carry excess weight distributed throughout the body but it’s a whole different ballgame when it is concentrated in the abdominal area also known as central obesity.  When a man gains weight, it almost always accumulates in the belly area.

The problem with belly fat is that it’s not limited to the extra layer of padding located just below the skin. The excess fat pounds stored as belly fat are located deep within the abdominal region in and around major organs like the liver and pancreas.  This deeply stored fat has its own special name called visceral fat.  Visceral fat is harmful and worse for your health than fat located anywhere else in the body and is the type of fat that increases a man’s risk for certain chronic diseases.

How a man can tell if he has visceral fat

You may think just simply looking at your abdomen will tell you if you have too much belly fat.  But a more definitive way is to use a cloth tape measure, placing it around the largest diameter of the belly – where a belt goes - to get an accurate measure.  Any man who has a waist circumference 40 inches or greater has too much visceral fat and is putting his health at risk.

3 health conditions belly fat puts a man at risk for

1.     Diabetes

Research has shown that fat cells, particularly abdominal fat cells, are biologically active.  This excess body fat in the belly region disrupts the normal balance and functioning of various hormones in the body. 

Scientists have learned that excess visceral fat pumps out immune system chemicals called cytokines that are thought to have deleterious effects on cells’ sensitivity to taking up insulin. This is known as insulin resistance.  This means the body’s muscle and liver cells are not responding adequately to normal levels of insulin, the hormone the pancreas secretes whenever blood glucose rises and is necessary to unlock the doors to the body’s cells allowing glucose to go from the bloodstream into the cells.  When glucose is unable to do this, glucose levels in the blood continue to rise, heightening the risk for diabetes.   

2.     Heart disease

It has been known that carrying too much weight in the central abdominal area is linked to heart disease but a study has shown that the left ventricle heart function worsened as waist size increased.  The left ventricle is one of the four chambers of the heart and is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood to tissues all over the body.  It’s the heart’s main pumping chamber. An abnormality in the left ventricle is a common cause of heart disease including congestive heart failure. 

Excess visceral fat can also lead to a higher risk for developing high blood pressure. 

3.     Erectile dysfunction

One way excess belly fat influences a man’s sex life is by decreasing the amount of blood that flows to the penis.  An erection occurs when the blood vessels leading to the penis dilate, causing it to fill with blood.  The penis must store blood in order to keep an erection.  Therefore, the ability of a man to develop and maintain penile erection depends on the health of his vascular system. 

Another factor affecting the health is the endothelium – the thin layer of cells that line the interior surface of all blood vessels.  If the endothelium is damaged by excess belly fat, it may not release enough nitric oxide – a molecule that signals the surrounding muscles to relax in order for the blood vessels to dilate and help cause an erection. 

Carrying excess weight can also affect erectile dysfunction by lowering testosterone levels.  Testosterone is the primary sex hormone in men and plays an important role in libido and sexual function. 

How to reduce belly fat

Reducing waist size is imperative to reducing your risk chronic health conditions.  It won’t happen overnight but the sooner you begin working on whittling your waist, the sooner you begin lessening your chance of developing heart disease.  Here are three ways to help point you in the right direction starting today:

·      Eat regular nutritious meals – Avoid skipping meals and keep mealtimes as consistent as possible.  This reduces hunger pangs causing you to crave high-calorie, convenience foods such as chips, sweets, or other foods and beverages high in fat, sugar, and calories.  Going no more than 4 hours without eating, helps stabilize blood sugars and keeps metabolism running smoothly.

·      Keep portion sizes in check – Even when making healthy choices, calories can add up. A good place to start on knowing proper portion sizes is to plan meals using the MyPlate method - half of the plate filled with vegetables, one-fourth with a lean protein and the other one-fourth filled with a healthy starch or whole grain.

·      Replace sugary beverages – Drink water or unsweetened tea instead of soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, lemonade, or any other drink with sugar in it.

·      Limit alcohol intake – It’s not necessarily that beer or any other beverage containing alcohol can turn a trim waistline into a beer belly. Any kind of calories – whether from alcohol, sugary beverage, or oversized portions of food – can increase belly fat.  However, alcohol intake is associated with bigger waists, because when you drink alcohol, the liver burns alcohol instead of fat. Also, a typical beer has 150 calories and if a man downs several in one sitting, that’s a serious calorie overload.  And don’t forget calories from food men use to wash down with alcohol – pizza, wings, and other fried foods.  It all adds up very quickly.

·      Focus on 30 grams of fiber daily – Choose more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and beans.  These foods are full of fiber taking longer to digest giving a feeling of fullness.  Aim to eat at least 2 fruits and 2 vegetables, a small handful of nuts and use beans in at least one meal each day.

·      Exercise regularly – Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week of about 30 minutes 5 days a week.  The greater the frequency, duration and intensity of physical activity enhances weight loss particularly in the abdominal area.