Surprise: Everyone has a little belly fat, even people who have a flat abdomen.
This is normal . But excess belly fat can affect your health so that other fats .
Some of the fat just under the skin . Other fats are inside, around your heart , lungs , liver and other organs.
Is that deep fat - called " visceral " fat - this is perhaps the greatest, even thin people problem.

Deep Belly Fat

You need a bit of visceral fat. Cushioning around organs is provided.
But if you have too much of it , it may be more likely to have high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes , heart disease , dementia and some cancers , including breast cancer and colon cancer.
Fat does not stop there . It is an active part of your body , so that " a lot of harmful substances," said Kristen Hairston , MD , assistant professor of endocrinology and metabolism at the School of Medicine of Wake Forest.
If you gain too much weight , your body begins to store fat in unusual places .
With increasing obesity , there are people whose normal storage areas are so full of fat that fat is deposited in the organs and heart , says Carol Shively , PhD , Professor of Comparative Pathology Medicine at School medicine of Wake Forest.

How Much Belly Fat Do You Have?

The most accurate way to determine the amount of visceral fat you have is to get a CT or MRI. But there is a way to reduce much simpler to check cost .
Get a tape measure, wrap around your waist at your belly button , and check the perimeter. Do it while standing , and make sure the tape measure is level.
For the sake of your health, you want your waist should be less than 35 inches if you are a woman and less than 40 inches if you are a man .
They have a " pear-shaped " - big hips and thighs - is considered safer than " apple-shaped " , which describes a larger round size.
"What we're really showing against apple pear " Hairston said , "is that if you have more abdominal fat, is probably an indication that you have more visceral fat. "

Thin People Have It, Too

Even if you are thin , you can always have too much visceral fat.
As part of their genes, and part of your lifestyle , especially their level of activity.
Visceral fat and inactivity . In one study, thin people watching their diets , but did not exercise were more likely to have excess visceral fat.
The key is to be active , no matter what size you are .

4 Steps for Beating Belly Fat

There are four keys to control belly fat : exercise, diet , sleep and stress management .
1 Exercise : News Vigorous exercise all your fat , including visceral fat.
Get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least 5 days a week . The figures of the foot, if it is fast enough to sweat and breathe harder, faster pace than the usual heart .
To get the same results in half the time , speed up your pace and vigorous exercise - such as jogging or walking. You have to do that for 20 minutes a day, four days a week .
Jog if you are already fit, or brisk walking at an incline on a treadmill if you're not ready to run . Sessions vigorous workout in static and elliptical bikes and rowing machines are also effective , says Duke researcher Cris Slentz , PhD.
Moderate activity - increase your heart rate for at least 30 minutes three times a week - helps too. The amount of visceral fat than you earn is delayed. But the torch of visceral fat , you may need to be reinforced your workouts.
" Rake leaves , walk, garden, go to Zumba, playing soccer with his children. Dont have to be in the gym," Hairston said.
If it is not active now , it is a good idea to consult with your physician before starting a fitness program .
2 Diet. There is no magic diet for belly fat. But when you lose weight on a diet, belly fat usually goes first.
Getting enough fiber can help. Hairston research shows that people who eat 10 grams of soluble fiber a day - no other changes in diet - less visceral fat accumulate over time than others. It's as simple as eating two small apples, one cup of green peas, or a half cup of pinto beans.
"Even if everything else stays the same , but spent more fiber bread , may be better able to maintain their weight over time ," Hairston said.
3 sleep. Getting the proper amount of sleep helps . In one study, people who received 6-7 hours of sleep per night gained less visceral fat over 5 years compared with those who slept 5 hours or less per night or 8 hours or more per night. Sleep can not be the only thing that mattered - but it was part of the picture.
4 stress . Everyone has stress. How is this issue handled. The best things you can do include relaxing with friends and family , meditation , exercise to vent and get advice . This leaves healthier and better prepared to make the right decisions for you.
" If I could just take the time to do one of these things," Shively said , "football is probably the most immediate benefits because it gets both obesity and stress. "