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Jun 12, 2009 7:58 am US/Central
Don't Listen To Myths About Losing Belly Fat
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Belly fat does more than force us to loosen our belts or buy bigger clothes. It can aggravate your blood pressure and increase your risk for diabetes and other diseases.
"It's associated with increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, arthritis, even cancer has supposedly been related to people being heavy," said Dr. Priscilla Hollander, endocrinologist with Baylor Healthcare. "Weight takes a toll on people's quality of life, I think, in terms of the ability of what they can do, how active they can be."
Researchers have also discovered that belly fat cells are active, and produce hormones and other substances that can have negative effects on your health.
"When you metabolize fat and fatty acid and even glucose, there is more of this activity in the abdomen, and that's why the abdominal fat is more 'bad fat,'" said Hollander.
To get rid of that 'bad fat,' Dr. Hollander says, don't pay much attention to those diet myths which range from drinking large amounts of green tea to combining certain fat-burning foods. It all comes down to calories in versus calories out, and a little exercise.
"It probably has to be a part of general weight loss," said Hollander. "Probably, you need to do some toning, some exercises devoted, I think, basically to strengthening the abdominal muscles."
Hollander continued, "Beyond that, are there any particular things that really target fat? No, not really."
"To lose belly fat, you have to lose fat all over," Hollander said. "And so, the best way to approach it is in terms of, what we suggest, very healthy, rational ways of approaching weight loss."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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