5 Reasons Why You Need To Ditch the Dadbod and Get Rid Of That Belly

It’s not uncommon for plenty of men to have some extra padding – or even a spare tire around their middle – but it may be more of a problem than you think. The abdominal fat – otherwise known as the “visceral fat” around your middle, is responsible for various health issues. While you may not be alone in carrying a few extra pounds – especially as the “Dadbod” craze has been growing, carrying the extra weight can be seriously risky.

The trouble with belly fat is that it doesn’t limit itself to the padding layer just beneath the skin. It lies deep within the abdomen and surrounds the internal organs. Regardless of your overall weight, a significant amount of belly fat increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even sleep apnea. Following are just some of the reasons you need to get rid of your belly.

1. Extra Fat Actually Suffocates You

Plenty of men drive their partners insane with constant snoring throughout the night – but few realize the damage that might be causing that late-night grunting. When you’re carrying too much fat around your middle, then you might be preventing necessary oxygen from getting into your bloodstream and lungs. Usually, it is excess tissue around the throat that causes sleep apnea, but studies have shown a positive correlation between abdominal visceral fat and breathing issues. If you want a better night’s rest, and better health overall, then you need to get rid of that saggy gut!

2. Your Belly Makes You Sick

The excess blubber around your stomach can have a serious impact on your body’s immune system. The chemicals that are used to inform your immune system when there’s something wrong – known as Cytokines – are damaged by too much excess fat. This means that excess visceral fat would can reduce your chances of letting your body know that it needs to fight back against health issues. Because cytokines can easily become sensitive to chemicals such as insulin – something that you can get plenty of when you over-eat, they stop doing their job. It’s worth remembering that abdominal fat doesn’t just link to diabetes and heart disease – it also affects your entire immune system.

3. Fat Can Cause Diabetes

Most people are aware that there’s a significant link between obesity and diabetes – but excess visceral fat can be a significant warning sign. The type of fat that you store around your middle is frequently linked to insulin balance. When you feel stressed or don’t eat regularly, then you secrete extra insulin, and the more you build up, the more fat becomes stored in your stomach.

4. Sometimes You Can’t Tell The Damage It’s Doing

Perhaps one of the biggest threats of visceral fat is that most people fail to recognize exactly how much damage they’re doing to their body. At a very basic level, some experts define someone with a dangerously large waist to have over 37 inches of fat around their mid-section, but the belly can be more dangerous when you don’t even see it. Guys who appear slim, but have a lot of belly fat aren’t always immediately obvious – even if they live the same unhealthy lifestyle as people with huge beer bellies. Just because you’re stomach isn’t huge doesn’t mean that you’re not suffering with the same immune-system interference as bigger people.

5. You’re Already At Risk

Most people know that as you grow older, it can become much harder to fight back against fat and excess weight, but the sugars that generally do the most damage to our bodies are the ones that are typically kept secret. In fact, the diet that could be damaging you could be in breaded chicken breasts that you assume is healthy, or protein powders that you use to help you get into shape. Try to stay away from unexpected insulin boosts in the form of sweetened workout shakes, and check everything you eat for excessive glucose if you want to try and manage your waistline better. Preventing excess fat is difficult, but it’s certainly easier to fight back when you’re younger!