Physical Activity

Are you aware of the difference between subcutaneous fat and visceral fat?

Visceral fat is the fat in your stomach area and subcutaneous fat is the fat found elsewhere on your body.

Over the last 20 years, researchers have discovered that visceral fat is much worse for your health than the other kind.

In fact, some medical practitioners are proposing that a person’s waist measurement may be a better predictor of health problems than body weight.

As a result, if you’re overweight, you may gain more health benefits by losing a few pounds if you are genetically predisposed to lay down fat in their stomach area.

Now researchers have discovered that there may be another way to decrease the amount of visceral fat other than just losing weight.

Duke University Medical Center researchers have demonstrated that physical inactivity leads to a significant increase in visceral fat and that high amounts of exercise can cause significant decreases in such fat over a relatively short period of time.

The most surprising discovery was how quickly fat accumulated deep in the abdomens of study participants who did not exercise (8.6% increase after eight months). However, in another group that did exercise at pretty high levels (17 miles of jogging each week), their visceral fat decreased by a similar amount during the same period.

I find this study very interesting. Up until reading it, I had assumed that a person’s level of visceral fat — relative to their overall weight — was genetically predetermined. Now it looks like you can influence it’s accumulation through exercise.

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of Finally, the Straight Scoop About Weight, Nutrition, and Fitness

The Bush administration just announced they will develop guidelines for physical activity that help people avoid obesity and live healthier lifestyles, which in turn could slow soaring health care costs.

Wow — that sounds like a worthwhile project.

However, here’s the problem — the guidelines aren’t expected to be ready until 2008.

What?? How is it possible for it to take until 2008 to come up with some physical activity guidelines?

You’d expect the government to have a bit more of a sense of urgency about this. They certainly understand the problem. Mike Leavitt, the health and human services secretary, is quoted as saying –”Obesity is an epidemic, and chronic disease inevitably follows. It has become a major quiet killer.”

If this is true, don’t you think it would be worth getting some physical-activity guidelines together pretty soon?

But, wait a minute — do we really need government guidelines for this? Don’t we already all know that increased physical activity is good for our health and the more, the better?

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of Finally, the Straight Scoop About Weight, Nutrition, and Fitness