How harmful is the terrible abdominal fat?

Author: Cheng Xiaoguang, Chief Physician, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital

Reviewer: Gao Xianshu, Chief Physician, Peking University First Hospital

Fat is very important to the human body. If you have too little fat and are extremely skinny, you will develop cachexia, which is life-threatening. However, if you have too much fat, especially too much fat in your abdomen, it can also be very bad for your body.

1. What is intra-abdominal fat? What harm does it do to the human body?

Intra-abdominal fat is actually the fat distributed in the abdominal and chest cavities and around the internal organs. Why do we particularly emphasize this type of fat?

Because this type of fat is more harmful to human health than subcutaneous fat. If we eat too much and have excess energy, and we don’t exercise enough or can’t burn it off, it will be stored in the abdominal cavity as intra-abdominal fat.

When there is too much abdominal fat, some inflammatory factors are secreted. For example, from an orthopedic perspective, obesity increases the chance of arthritis. In addition, the greater risk of abdominal fat is that it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Another risk is that it increases the risk of metabolic syndrome, such as a significantly higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

Figure 1 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

The risks of these diseases are clearly related to increased intra-abdominal fat, so now in addition to judging obesity or overweight, we pay more attention to measuring intra-abdominal fat during the medical process and making accurate evaluations.

2. How to assess the amount of intra-abdominal fat?

There are many ways to assess intra-abdominal fat. For example, the electrical impedance method can be used to assess the amount of intra-abdominal fat. However, a more accurate method should still be to use imaging assessment.

For example, dual-energy X-ray scanning, from head to toe, we can know how much of the person's weight is lean tissue, how much is bone, and how much is fat. Then, we can do some detailed measurements in the abdomen to determine how much fat is inside the abdomen.

In fact, there are more accurate methods in the radiology department now. For example, through CT images, we can see bones, muscles and fat, because on CT, the difference between them is very obvious, so we can measure it in this way. For example, we can use some quantitative technology to make an abdominal CT image, and through certain software we can accurately measure how many cubic centimeters of abdominal fat there are, and we can also know how many cubic centimeters of total fat there are.

In addition to CT, MRI can also make a good assessment. In terms of the image itself, there is no difference between MRI and CT. But in terms of the imaging principle, they are different. Compared with CT, the advantage of MRI is that it has no radiation, and it can quantitatively analyze these bones, muscles and fat, and then measure them very accurately.

3. Can abdominal fat be removed through liposuction?

No. Liposuction is done to remove subcutaneous fat, which means making a small incision in the skin, and then breaking up the fat and sucking it out. Visceral fat, that is, the fat inside the abdomen, cannot be moved.

Figure 2 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

Subcutaneous fat is actually good for the human body, especially for women after menopause. The hormones stored in the subcutaneous fat can be released. If you have surgery to remove it when you are young, it is equivalent to spending the money you have saved, so you must be particularly cautious.

In fact, for most people, a healthy lifestyle is more important.

Fast food, especially fried food, should be eaten as little as possible. Another thing is to exercise properly after eating, especially aerobic exercise, to consume excess energy, which is good for health.

When it comes to losing weight, it is best to reduce intra-abdominal fat. We can monitor this through imaging methods, such as how much intra-abdominal fat you had before losing weight, how much the intra-abdominal fat has decreased after one year of weight loss, and how the fatty liver has improved.

There is a very good example, he was an overweight patient, and he lost weight by changing his lifestyle, diet and exercise. After one year, his weight loss was not much, only 0.3 kg. But his abdominal circumference was much smaller, his abdominal fat decreased by 17%, and his body muscle increased. So if you can also achieve such an effect, it would be the best.

Of course, we hope that everyone will lose weight in a healthy way. We cannot simply say how fast you lose weight, because if you lose weight too quickly, you may rebound, especially as we can see now, people lose weight through dieting, and then after eating normally, the weight will rebound sharply.

Therefore, you must use scientific methods to lose weight. Another thing is to pay attention to the long-term weight loss effect, ensure a healthy lifestyle, and insist on exercising.