People who appear thin can be fat too! Although they might look like they are slim and healthy. The truth is they could be hiding something dangerous underneath their skin. Visceral fat could be lurking underneath and surrounding their vital organs.
Even if you're thin, you can still have too much visceral fat. How much you have is partly about your genes, and partly about your lifestyle, especially how active you are. Visceral fat likes inactivity.
Everyone, including thin people, gets excess fat around their belly button when their spine curves and midsection is compressed. There are a few factors that might cause some people to develop abdominal fat more so than others.
Even if you're thin, you can still have visceral fat around the abdominal region—being “skinny” doesn't necessarily mean you're healthy. There's no sure-fire way to tell visceral from subcutaneous fat short of an expensive CT scan, but it's important for you to get a rough idea of what your visceral stores are.
Combining Cardio and Resistance Training
Physical activity is one of the most effective ways to burn excess belly fat. This holds especially true for cardio exercise and resistance training. By itself, cardio burns calories very quickly. The more calories you burn, the more fat you'll ultimately lose.
Why do I have a FUPA if I'm skinny? Your belly stores up the excess fat more easily than the rest of your body and your mons pubis area is susceptible to fat deposits. That's why you can be skinny and still have excess fat in your belly or upper pubic area.
The medical term for 'skinny fat' is technically MONW or “metabolically obese, normal weight” and “Sarcopenic obesity”. Skinny fat people are often a normal weight (or underweight!) but because of their sedentariness, lack of muscle, or poor diet, they have a high percentage of body fat.
Visceral fat makes the belly stick out or gives a person an 'apple' shape. It also produces chemicals and hormones that can be toxic to the body. Visceral fat produces more toxic substances than subcutaneous fat, so it is more dangerous. Even in thin people, having visceral fat carries a range of health risks.
You will first lose hard fat that surrounds your organs like liver, kidneys and then you will start to lose soft fat like waistline and thigh fat. The fat loss from around the organs makes you leaner and stronger.
Aging, weight gain and loss, pregnancies, and other health-related conditions cause fluctuations that often result in loose skin, extra pockets of fat, and separated or weakened abdominal muscles. The excess fat has a tendency to settle around your hips due to gravity and is difficult to target with diet and exercise.
PCOS belly refers to the abdominal fat causing an increased waist-to-hip ratio, PCOS Belly will look like an apple-shaped belly rather than a pear-shaped belly. One of the most common symptoms of PCOS is weight gain, particularly around the abdominal area.
The acronym FUPA stands for “fatty upper pubic area.” In some instances, FUPA can both cause physical problems and negatively impact your self-esteem. If this is a real problem for you, then there are surgical and psychological treatments that can help.
There are a few reasons that you may experience this condition: You're committed to cardio workouts, but don't do resistance training. You have a poor diet, despite your amazing metabolism that keeps you skinny. Everyone's favorite reason – genetics.
Gaining weight solely in your stomach may be the result of specific lifestyle choices. The two S's — stress and sugar — play a significant role in the size of your midsection. Certain medical conditions and hormonal changes can contribute to abdominal weight gain.
The phrase 'skinny fat' or metabolically obese normal weight (MONW) is used to describe someone who appears to be lean, but actually has a high body fat percentage. If they were to calculate their body mass index (BMI) or even weigh themselves, they may appear to be healthy, but this can be deceiving.
The battle of the bulge
One reason belly fat is so hard to lose is that it's considered an “active fat.” Unlike some fatty tissue that simply sits “dormant,” belly fat releases hormones that can have an impact on your health — and your ability to lose weight, especially in the waist and abdomen areas.
As against areas such as legs, face and arms, our stomach and abdominal regions possess beta cells that makes it difficult to reduce the fats easily and lose weight in these areas. However, as per research, belly fat is the most difficult to lose as the fat there is so much harder to break down.
Subcutaneous fat is fat that's stored just beneath your skin. It's the kind that you can pinch between your fingers. Visceral fat is different. Visceral fat is behind your abdominal muscles and can't be seen.
Cardio such as swimming, aerobics, running or dancing will burn this excess fat store. HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is the fastest way to trim down stomach fat.
Wrap a tape measure around your waist over your belly button. (Don't suck in your stomach!) In women, 35 inches or more is a sign of visceral fat. In men, it's 40 inches.
If your BMI is less than 18.5, it falls within the underweight range. If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, it falls within the Healthy Weight range. If your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9, it falls within the overweight range.
If your BMI is 25.0 to <30, it falls within the overweight range. If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the obesity range.
A FUPA looks like an extra layer of skin and fat just above the pubis. Some people have a larger mons pubis because of genetics. FUPA can also develop after weight loss or weight gain.