Yes, you can be skinny overall but still have a belly due to fat distribution, weak core muscles causing anterior pelvic tilt, or carrying unhealthy visceral fat (deep belly fat), a condition often called "skinny fat" (TOFI - Thin on the Outside, Fat on the Inside). This happens even in thin people because genetics, diet, inactivity, and age affect where fat is stored and muscle mass.
Skinny People Can Have Belly Fat Problems, Too!
You are incorrect if you assume that excessive belly fats only occur in overweight people. Skinny people can also have belly fat problems, known as “skinny fat.”
Unhealthy eating is the biggest driver of big bellies. Too many starchy carbohydrates and bad fats are a recipe for that midsection to expand. Instead, get plenty of veggies, choose lean proteins, and stay away from fats from red meats. Choose healthier fats in things like fish, nuts, and avocados.
For example, eating fatty foods and carbohydrates (sugars) can make your body form more visceral fat. And if you aren't active enough, you'll make more visceral fat than your body uses for energy. While you might not realize it, stress can also play a role in visceral fat.
It is completely normal. Even people who are very thin have them. When you sit down, your torso shortens. It is compressing all skin and fat which causes the belly rolls you are talking about. There isn't much getting rid of them. Those people who don't have them are far and in between.
In most people, about 90% of body fat is subcutaneous, the kind that lies in a layer just beneath the skin. If you poke your belly, the fat that feels soft is subcutaneous fat. The remaining 10% — called visceral or intra-abdominal fat — lies out of reach, beneath the firm abdominal wall.
Body Shapes with the Highest Risk of Health Problems
Apple and pear body shapes tend to have the highest risk. Apples tend to be at greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, and strokes because they hold a larger amount of tummy fat.
Genetics – Some people are genetically predisposed to carry weight around their stomach area. This could be due to their body type or the way their body stores fat. Poor posture – Slouching or leading a sedentary lifestyle can cause your stomach to stick out, even if you are not overweight.
It's no surprise that the best one-two punch for reducing visceral fat is a combination of exercise and a healthy diet. However, the type of exercise matters, as does how you adjust your diet. “To fuel belly fat burning, you need to build muscle mass, which means increasing resistance exercise,” says Dr. Apovian.
Location and Appearance
This condition can create a noticeable “apron-like” overhang, which can be large and extend significantly beyond the body's frame. FUPA: This refers to the accumulation of fat directly above the pubic bone, leading to a bulge in the lower abdomen.
No single body part loses fat first. Everyone loses fat from different places initially, depending on a variety of factors. In general, women may lose fat from their legs first, and men may lose fat from their torsos first — but it's highly individual.
Factors like age, genetics, poor diet, stress, hormonal imbalances and lifestyle habits (e.g., heavy drinking) can contribute to abdominal weight gain, with visceral fat posing significant health risks.
You may be able to get rid of your lower belly pooch without surgery, but it depends on the reason for your belly. A pooch triggered by menopausal hormone changes or pregnancy may not go away no matter how diligently you stick to a healthy diet and exercise plan.
This is commonly caused by food intolerances, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), eating too fast or eating foods that cause bacteria in your gut to produce more gas (eg beans, broccoli and cauliflower). However, in some cases, there may be an underlying health condition causing your stomach to bloat.
Equally unfortunate is the fact that cortisol belly doesn't have a specific appearance, despite what countless infographics on the internet will tell you. Cortisol belly simply looks like abdominal fat, and there is no way to identify it by appearance.
Cardiovascular exercise: Cardio exercises such as running, cycling, and swimming are great for burning calories and reducing belly fat. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardio exercise per week.
During this process, you might notice your body feels a bit softer or "jiggly." This can happen because your skin and tissues are adjusting to the shrinking fat cells, and sometimes your body retains a little extra water as it adapts. It's all part of the transition to a leaner, stronger version of you!
Instead, walking helps burn calories and lower overall body fat, which in turn can lead to changes in abdominal fat over time. For those aiming to slim down, achieving about 10,000 to 12,500 steps per day can be effective, especially when paired with a balanced, calorie-conscious diet.
The most well-known is ghrelin, the 'hunger hormone', which is mainly secreted by the stomach. If you don't sleep enough, levels of that hormone will be higher, and you will feel hungrier and consume more calories. Over the long term, this leads to weight gain.
Skinny fat, Alexander says, can happen if you eat a particularly poor diet or in people who are not typically active. Visceral fat likes inactivity. In one study, thin people who watched their diets but didn't exercise were more likely to have too much visceral fat. The key is to be active, at any size.
Drinking water and belly fat
When you're trying to lose belly fat, it's a common recommendation that you need to drink more water. This is a valid suggestion, but there's not enough research to prove that increased water intake directly results in weight loss.
A hormonal belly typically appears as accumulated fat around your waist, typically towards your lower waist. There are a few tell-tale signs that this excess weight is due to hormonal causes: You're only gaining weight around your abdomen. Women typically gain weight on their butts, hips and thighs.
The rarest female body type is generally considered the hourglass, characterized by shoulders and hips of similar width with a significantly narrower, defined waist, with studies suggesting less than 10% of women naturally fit this description, while some data points to the inverted triangle (broad shoulders, narrow hips/waist) also being quite rare, potentially under 1% in some views, though hourglass is more consistently cited as the least common overall.
Nevertheless, the least attractive (cluster 1—thin torso and thin legs; or cluster 2—large torso and large legs) and the most attractive images (thin torso and medium legs) can be established.
Women who exhibit the hourglass figure have been shown to be more admired, which can put pressure on women whose body shapes are noticeably different to strive to achieve the hourglass figure. This can lead to body dissatisfaction which can cause eating disorders in (often young) women from all over the globe.