ARTICLE #4 SUMMARY

ARTICLE #4 SUMMARY

Abdominal fat and what to do about it. (2006). Harvard Women's Health Watch, 14(4), 1-3.

NOTE: This was very much so an "overview" article and I don't think I will make guidelines from it until I get to review the original research referenced (which is included in the reference list of this blog to be reviewed)

Intro

·         As women age, their proportion of to body weight tends to increase (especially during menopause)

·         Visceral fat has been linked to metabolic disturbances, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, higher LDL (bad) cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes

·         In women, visceral fat has been linked to breast cancer, colorectal cancer  and the need for gallbladder surgery

·         Fat accumulated in pear-shaped women (weight carried in lower half) is subcutaneous fat while those with apple shaped bodies (weight carried in middle) is largely visceral.

Common causes of abdominal fat in women:

·         Heredity (genetics) can influence your shape. A number of genes have been identified that determine how many fat cells an individual has and where their fat gets stored

·         Hormones are also a big player

o   lowered estrogen can lead to increased abdominal fat after menopause

o   menopause can also lead to an increase of cortisol, the stress hormone that promotes the accumulation of abdominal fat

·         There is much evidence that waist circumference is a better predictor of health problems than BMI

Our fat is not lazy

·         Abdominal fat is biologically active and should be thought of as an endocrine organ/gland that produces hormones than just a storage area

·         Fat releases leptin (hormone that lowers appetite) after meals

·         Fat releases adiponectin (chemical that affects your body’s response to insulin)

·         Excess body fat disrupts the normal balance and functioning of these hormones

·         One reason visceral fat is so harmful is because of its location near the portal vein (vein that carries blood from the intestinal area to the liver)

What can we do about visceral fat?

·         What works

o   At least 30 min of physical activity a day - Duke University Medical Center study shows - non-exercisers experienced nearly 9% gain in visceral fat after 6 months compared to those who walked/jogged the equivalent of 12 miles per week who put on no visceral fat

o   Strength training – study where experimental group received 1 hour of strength training 2x a week reduced total body fat by nearly 4%

·         What doesn’t work

o   Spot exercising – sit-ups, etc tighten ab muscles but will nto get at visceral fat

o   Drastically reducing calorie intake – puts body into starvation mode

o   DHEA – hormone that declines with age. A two year randomized trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that the hormone had ZERO effect on aging markers (including body composition) in men and women aged 60+

·         Drug treatments

o   Meridia – drug’s greatest effects are on visceral fat

o   Acomplia – not yet FDA approved – new class of drug that blocks brain receptor that increases appetite and has been shown to modestly reduce storage of fat on the waist