Great quantities of visceral fat has been linked to insulin resistance, the developments of cancers, and increased mortality in hospitals. Medical researchers based at the Hamilton General Hospital in Canada have explained further. Visceral obesity (i.e. too much visceral fat) is dangerous to your health. It can contribute to heart disease and hypertension, resulting in an earlier grave.
Men measuring up to 37inches or more will need to lose visceral fat; this applies to women measuring more than 31.5inches.
How to lose visceral fat
A research team from the University of California, San Francisco, examined the effects of chronic stress and impulsive risk-taking in visceral fat levels.
Enrolling 113 middle-aged participants, the investigation went on for 18 months.
In that time the group were split into two groups: chronically stressed and lower-stressed individuals.
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People were categorised into each group depending on the assessments conducted at the beginning of the study.
“We objectively assessed impulsive risk-taking using the Behavioural Analog Risk Task (BART) at baseline,” said the researchers.
Impulsive risk-taking can involve the “tendency to insufficiently think, plan, and control one’s behaviour”.
Visceral fat levels were measured at baseline and then again at the end of the experiment using scans.
However, the combination of the two “may increase risk for visceral fat gain over time”.
The charity Diabetes UK recognise the likelihood of visceral obesity contributing to insulin resistance.
Thus the charity advises people to reduce levels of visceral fat by taking part in regular exercise.
Other helpful methods include eating a healthy, balanced diet, getting a good night’s sleep and limiting your alcohol intake.
Diabetes UK does recognise that stress can play a part in visceral fat accumulation, as the charity recommends reducing stress levels.