Is invisible fat hurting your health?

Today’s focus is a biggie because even though you can’t see it, it can have a major effect on your health…

And that’s belly fat.

There are two basic kinds of belly fat …

• The “pinch-an-inch” type that’s just under your skin, called subcutaneous fat
• And the fat deep inside your body that you CAN’T see, called visceral fat

It’s the second type we’re going to talk about today.

Having some of that deep visceral fat is healthy because, among other things, it can help protect your organs.

But too much of it can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

You can get a buildup of visceral fat because of your genetics and/or lifestyle factors like stress, diet, lack of exercise, poor sleep, etc.

Here’s a quick test to see if you are at risk:

• Grab a tape measure and measure around your waist.
• Divide your waist size by your height (using either inches or centimeters for both calculations).
• A healthy ratio is no more than 0.5 (for both women and men)

If you’re not where you want to be, the great news is that a healthy lifestyle goes a long way toward helping to prevent and reduce your visceral fat levels.

Reference: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24147-visceral-fat