Visceral fat is fat that surrounds your organs inside your abdominal cavity. Visceral fat is thought to be more dangerous than fat in other locations of the body, such as the fat found in many women’s thighs that causes cellulite. Cellulite fat is not visceral fat, but rather is called subcutaneous fat.

The reason why visceral fat is so bad is that visceral fat increases your chances of developing metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and diabetes. And you already know that once you start down these unhealthy paths, it’s important to stop these processes from occurring, otherwise you’re on a fast track to heart disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure, aging fast, and even cancer.

Right now you can determine if you are suffering from visceral fat simply by looking in the mirror. If you see a large belly or that most of your weight is around the middle, you have packed on some serious poundage of visceral fat.

In one study reported in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers found that those who did not exercise had a 8.6% increase in visceral fat in only 6 months. That’s amazing!

An exercise program that included a brisk 30-minute walk six days a week, prevented the accumulation of visceral fat. More exercise than the 30-minute walk reversed the visceral fat accumulation.

Sources: Cris A. Slentz, Lori B. Aiken, Joseph A. Houmard, Connie W. Bales, Johanna L. Johnson, Charles J. Tanner, Brian D. Duscha, and William E. Kraus Inactivity, exercise, and visceral fat. STRRIDE: a randomized, controlled study of exercise intensity and amount. J Appl Physiol, Oct 2005; 99: 1613-1618.

Tags: cellulite, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, visceral fat