Worried that you're harboring dangerous belly fat? Your waist
circumference tends to be related to the amount of visceral fat you
have, a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found.
The American Heart Association recommends keeping your waist below 40
inches. To check, wrap a tailor's measuring tape snugly around your
bare abdomen, just above your hip bones. Relax, exhale, and measure. If
your number comes up a little elevated, here's what you need to do to
target visceral fat. (Want the latest health and nutrition advice
delivered straight to your inbox?
QUIT THE FRUCTOSE
A
diet packed with fructose can make your belly bulge. In fact,
adolescents in a Georgia Health Sciences University study who consumed
the most fructose had about 20 percent more visceral fat than those who
ate the least. Your move: Avoid fruit juice or foods that have added
sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Don't worry about whole fruit,
though. It accounts for less than 20 percent of the fructose in the
typical American's diet, say Emory University researchers.
SWEAT THE CARDIO
Resistance
training is great for adding lean body mass, but cardio is better for
burning visceral fat. In a Duke University study, people who trained on
treadmills, elliptical trainers, and stationary bikes for 8 months (at
the cardio equivalent of jogging 12 miles a week) lost about 8 percent
of their visceral fat. Those who performed equally intense resistance
workouts saw no change in visceral fat. (For more ways to sculpt every
muscle in your body while torching body fat, check out The Workout That Gets You Shredded.)
EAT WHOLE GRAINS
Foods like barley and quinoa do more than just help fill you up. In a 2010 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
people who ate three or more daily servings of whole grains had 10
percent less visceral fat than those who ate hardly any or no whole
grains, even when the researchers adjusted for other lifestyle and diet
factors. One benefit, they speculate, might come from prebiotic
compounds that feed beneficial bacteria in your gut.
SLEEP SMART
The right amount of shut-eye is key. A study in the journal Sleep
showed that people who logged 6 to 7 hours a night had the lowest
levels of visceral fat. Above or below that range was associated with
more visceral fat, with the worst numbers going to those who slept less
than 5 hours. Over a 5-year span, these sleepers put on visceral fat
about five times faster than the healthy sleepers did.