Study links belly fat with premature death

Can belly fat be a problem even for people who are not overweight? A new research has confirmed that excess weight around the belly increases the risk of premature death even for people that are considered normal weight.

The research published online on November 10, in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Belly fat, also known as visceral fat, which builds up in the spaces between and around the viscera — internal organs like your stomach and intestines is considered to be the most harmful form of fat in the body, medical experts said.

“Belly fat is bad fat,” said Dr. Paul Poirier, from the Institute of Cardiology at Laval University in Quebec, Canada, and the author of an accompanying editorial in the same issue of the journal.

Similarly, Eric Jacobs, PhD, a researcher at the American Cancer Society, said in recent years, scientists have uncovered links between belly fat and cancers of the colon, esophagus, and pancreas. Furthermore, an endocrinology specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, Michael D. Jensen, M.D, said regardless of your overall weight, having a large amount of belly fat increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer, and sleep apnea.

The November 2012 Harvard Women’s Health Watch examines the connection between abdominal fat and heart health and found extra body fat increases the risk for conditions that contribute to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. “The fat around the belly is particularly metabolically active, meaning that it produces a number of factors that increase the risks for heart disease,” explained Dr. Paula Johnson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.