Deadly Visceral Fat

"Research suggests that fat cells — particularly abdominal fat cells — are biologically active. It's appropriate to think of fat as an endocrine organ or gland, producing hormones and other substances that can profoundly affect our health. Although scientists are still deciphering the roles of individual hormones, it's becoming clear that excess body fat, especially abdominal fat, disrupts the normal balance and functioning of these hormones."
"Scientists are also learning that visceral fat pumps out immune system chemicals called cytokines — for example, tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 — that can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. These and other biochemicals are thought to have deleterious effects on cells' sensitivity to insulin, blood pressure, and blood clotting."
"One reason excess visceral fat is so harmful could be its location near the portal vein, which carries blood from the intestinal area to the liver. Substances released by visceral fat, including free fatty acids, enter the portal vein and travel to the liver, where they can influence the production of blood lipids. 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."
"The good news is that visceral fat yields fairly easily to exercise and diet, with benefits ranging from lower blood pressure to more favorable cholesterol levels. Subcutaneous fat located at the waist — the pinchable stuff — can be frustratingly difficult to budge, but in normal-weight people, it's generally not considered as much of a health threat as visceral fat is."
 

Type 2 diabetes can be caused by storing high amounts of visceral fat  diabetes.co.uk

New research identifies people who seem to eat enormous amounts of food despite which they remain lean -- the envy of all those who struggle with weight gain and sigh that they wish they were gifted with the metabolic capacity to do the same without penalty of weight gain -- potentially unhealthy. It appears a new term for these people is "skinny-fat", the research classifying them as metabolically obese. Such that they may suffer from high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, or diabetes.

The direct opposite is the burly professional footballer, and even sumo wrestlers whose bodies are beyond large with obvious, visible excess fat. They, on the other hand, are in all likelihood healthy, their extra fat tissue serving as a protective layer, not reflecting their eating habits necessarily for these athletes consume food and train in the manner they do for the purpose of excelling in their careers. Their diets are carefully planned and so are their exercise regimens.

So what's the difference between the two examples?

The type of accumulated fat. The two types found in the human body are subcutaneous on the one hand and visceral on the other; the former representing fat lying beneath the skin, the latter located deep within the abdomen, surrounding the visceral organs there. In normal-weight individuals there is a 90-10 split between subcutaneous and visceral fat (respectively). In people identified as skinny-fat this ratio is reversed disproportionately.

Try to exercise at least 30 minutes every day, which helps you burn calories. Photo credit: Xin Xing/Getty Images

Increased visceral fat increases blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides and produces lower levels of the 'good' cholesterol, HDL, according to scientific studies which also find increased levels of visceral fat responsible for increasing cardiovascular disease risk, as well as dementia, Type 2 diabetes, asthma, breast and colorectal cancer. Leading to the inescapable conclusion that a person identified as skinny-fat is burdened with a higher risk of death in comparison to their visually obese counterparts.

Follow a healthy, nutritious eating plan.  Pinterest

Diet and exercise can help to reduce the presence of visceral fat. One study had participants exercise between 15 to 20 hours on a weekly basis, and for those people the cardio, strength training and high-intensity exercise groups realized a notable loss in visceral fat. All of the groups involved in the study lost weight, with those who lifted heavier weights or who jogged at higher rates gaining the most improved results.

Drinking a litre of cola daily for a six-month period promoted a 24 percent greater visceral fat accumulation in comparison to simply drinking the same amount of water, according to yet another study. Replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat had the effect of reducing visceral fat as well, as demonstrated by another study. The research and the results are there, and they are undeniable.

Unlike subcutaneous fat, you cannot see visceral fat. However, Harvard University notes that overweight or obese people are likely to have excess visceral fat