Showing posts with label Belly Fat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belly Fat. Show all posts

Sunday 23 June 2013

"Losing Belly Fat and Weight Improves Your Sleep"









The Hopkins researchers recruited 77 overweight volunteers with either pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Many reported sleep problems such as sleep apnoea, daytime fatigue, insomnia, and restless or interrupted sleep. 
Half of the volunteers went on a weight-loss diet with supervised exercise training. The other half did just the diet. 
After six months, participants in both groups had lost an average of 15 pounds and reduced their belly fat by 15%. 
Sleep quality improved in both groups. A reduction in belly fat was the best predictor of improved sleep.
The results of this trial are in line with other studies exploring how weight affects sleep and sleep affects weight.

Linking weight loss, belly fat, and sleep

Excess weight and body fat increase the likelihood of developing obstructive sleep apnoea. This condition occurs when the airway becomes blocked, either completely or partially, during sleep. 
These temporary blockages causes frequent awakenings which, in turn, increase the risk for conditions such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.
“So one possibility with the results of this study is that weight loss reduced sleep apnoea and improved sleep quality,” says sleep expert Dr. Lawrence Epstein, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. 
Weight loss also improves blood sugar control which, in people with diabetes or pre-diabetes, could reduce restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorders, two sleep disorders that people with diabetes are prone to having.
Exercise has also been shown to improve sleep quality. For example, Oregon State University researchers found that people who exercised at least 150 minutes (2:5 hours) a week slept better and felt more alert during the day than those who didn’t exercise much. 
(Don’t exercise right before bedtime, however. That can make it difficult to fall asleep.)
Why reducing belly fat might be a key to improved sleep remains a mystery. 
We do know that fat deposited around the abdomen, called visceral fat, is associated with heart disease, diabetes, dementia, breast and colon cancers, and other chronic health conditions. 
Losing belly fat, then, seems like a logical way to improve not only sleep but also overall health. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple.
Where you lose weight is partly determined by genetics,” says Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an expert on physical activity’s role in promoting health and preventing chronic disease. 
“Generally, if you lose weight, some of this will occur in belly fat. You just can’t predict how much.”

Improving sleep

Despite what thousands of websites want you to believe, there are no exercises or potions that “melt away” belly fat. 
Instead, the solution is old-fashioned exercise and a healthy diet.
If you are serious about losing weight and sleeping better, aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (like swimming or brisk walking) each week. 
You don’t have to do five 30-minute workouts. More but shorter exercise sessions, such as three 10-minute brisk walks instead of one 30-minute walk, will have the same impact, says Dr. Lee.
Exercise alone generally doesn’t lead to substantial weight loss. That requires cutting back on daily calories.
The lasting effects of combining exercise and weight loss will go far beyond improving your sleep and well into a healthy future.

(Article courtesy of Harvard Medical School- www.health.harvard.edu)

Saturday 4 May 2013

"6 Happiest Ways to Beat Belly Fat"

Blast belly fat and whittle your middle while still living the good life.


Have a Glass of Wine with Dinner

Tossing back a little booze doesn’t doom you to a beer belly, says Harvard School of Public Health researchers. 

In fact, you might experience the opposite. Although wine, beer, and cocktails have long been synonymous with “empty calories,” a recent study found that women who drank one to two servings of alcohol a day, regardless of type, gained less weight and were less likely to become overweight compared to their tea-totaling counterparts.

You’re not going to lose weight drinking, but this attenuating effect may be explained by a combination of factors. Women tend to cut back on other parts of their diet when they drink, and there’s evidence that their bodies break down alcohol inefficiently, which can burn a few more calories, says Lu Wang, MD, PhD, lead researcher and instructor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

This isn’t a green light for adopting liquid diet, however. Moderation is key, and the weight loss effects of light drinking probably don’t extend to men, as guys usually eat just as much, if not more, when they drink.

Skip Sit Ups

Science confirms what you've long suspected: Those hundreds of sit-ups before bed are not getting you any closer to a toned stomach. Not only do crunches put your lower back at risk for injury, but they work only a tiny portion of your core. 
Swiss Ball Roll Out
For a smarter, more effective abs routine, try the Swiss-ball roll out and the Swiss-ball pike.


A new Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy study compared ten different abs exercises and found that your core works harder performing these two moves than any other. Still, abs-centric workouts only get you so far. They primarily strengthen and tone your muscles, not decrease your waist size, so before you can reveal your six-pack, you’ll have to remove the layer of fat jiggling on your stomach. 
While it’s tempting to just amp up your cardio and watch your number of calories burned climb, take the time to hit up the weight room, too. After all, research suggests that resistance training may be more effective at torching fat than aerobic exercise. Melt your gut with our belly-busting routines for men and women.

Shorten Your Cardio Workout

"Cardio Workout"
The tortoise got it all wrong—slow and steady doesn’t always win the race. 

A 2009 study found that people who did 30 minutes of intense cardio, five days a week, lost more visceral fat than those who exercised for 50 minutes a session at a moderate pace, even though they burned the same number of total calories at the gym. 
“It’s kind of like, if you get in an automobile, and you drive faster, you burn more fuel in a shorter period of time,” explains lead researcher Robert H. Coker, PhD, associate professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. 

Your body may burn more energy after an intense workout, since stressed muscles need more fuel to repair and replenish.

You don’t have to kill yourself on the stationary bike to get the benefits of high-intensity workouts, either. 


The study participants in the high-intensity group were still able to talk and hold brief conversations while exercising.

Get More Sleep

"A Good Nights Sleep"
It’s called beauty sleep for good reason. Canadian researchers looked at the relationship between sleep and weight gain over 6 years and found that people who slept 5 to 6 hours a night gained about 4.5 pounds more than those who rested for 7 to 8 hours. 

Light snoozers were also 27 percent more likely to develop obesity than regular sleepers.

Rest regulates your hunger hormones gherlin and leptin, and lack of shut-eye simultaneously stimulates your appetite while suppressing feelings of satiety. Stop giving sleep the short shrift and try turning off your electronics and turning down your thermostat. 
Optimal temperatures for sleep hover around 60°F to 68°F.

Eat 3 Servings of Dairy Every Day

Dairy occasionally gets a bad rap for being fatty, but eating yogurt, milk, and, yes, even cheese, may help you lose that stubborn spare tyre. 
Yogurt..mmm!
An International Journal of Obesity study found that that people who were on a reduced-calorie diet and ate about 3 cups of yogurt a day for 12 weeks lost more weight than those who cut calories and took calcium pills. 
What’s more, the extra chub was cinched primarily from their stomachs: Yogurt eaters lost about an inch and a half from their waists, while the calcium pill poppers lost less than a quarter of an inch.

“Fat cells make their own cortisol, which begets more belly fat,” explains Michael B. Zemel, professor of nutrition and medicine and director of the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 
“There are components in milk and yogurt, such as calcium, that interrupt that cycle, reducing the drive to store more fat in the belly.” Dairy products are also sources of conjugated linoleic acid, another belly fat-busting compound.

Eat Carbs (But Choose Wisely)

Studies show that you don't have go all-Atkins in order to lose your gut. On the contrary, noshing on the right carbs can actually help you lose weight. 
"Whole Grains"
A 2009 Journal of Nutrition study found that those who stocked up on whole grains (dark bread, brown rice, popcorn, Bulgar wheat, couscous) and cereal fibre tended to have less overall body fat and belly fat than those who ate less of the stuff.

Adding more whole grains to your diet may encourage you to cut back on other foods. 

Whole grains are loaded with fibre, which adds bulk to your meals without adding calories, and are harder to digest. 

Translation: You'll feel fuller, longer eating whole grains instead of the refined kind.

By Emily G. W. Chau fitbie

Saturday 27 April 2013

"Eat Your Veggies: Fibre May Prevent Belly Fat, Cut Disease Risk"


Adding fibre to your diet every day may be the key to preventing the growth of the belly fat that has been linked to chronic diseases.

A new study shows that for every 10 grams of soluble fibre a person consumes in his or her daily diet, 3.7 percent  less belly fat was gained over time. Soluble fibre is found in foods such as beans, fruits and vegetables.

The study "reinforces the notion most people have that fibre is a good thing," and shows that fibre has a role in preventing chronic disease, said study researcher Dr. Kristen Hairston, an assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Centre. "Ten grams above what you're doing separated those who didn't gain as much as others, and may be a guidepost for people."

Hairston said it is still unclear why soluble fibre has this effect in the body, but added that it is an area for future research.

Burning off the belly fat

There is more than one type of body fat. Visceral fat, also known as belly fat, surrounds the internal organs and has been linked to chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Subcutaneous fat, which is fat found just under the skin, is less of a health concern.

Researchers sought to learn why some people develop more visceral fat while others end up with more subcutaneous fat.

The study used data gathered from 1,100 Hispanic and African-American men and women over the course of five years, and measured a variety of dietary factors as well as exercise levels and smoking.

The main finding, Hairston said, was that eating more fibre appeared to lead to a healthier body, even if people ended up weighing the same.

Some other dietary factors seemed to have an effect on where fat accumulated. Eating sweets tended to be linked to lower levels of subcutaneous fat growth, while eating protein seemed to lead to more.

Chronic illness

Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutrition at Penn State University, said the study tackled an area of concern regarding the illnesses people develop as they gain weight with age.– Many of those illnesses, she said, are linked to visceral fat. (Kris-Etherton was not involved with the new study.)

Kris-Etherton's research has found links between increased fibre intake and a reduction in heart disease, and the new study may explain those findings, she said.

"Whole grains and then soluble fibre and physical activity may help decrease the increase in visceral [fat] with age," she said. "It may slow it down, prevent it. People need to eat more soluble fibre, and it'll help their cholesterol and perhaps their waistlines too."

But while the study showed fibre prevented belly fat from increasing, it's unclear if fibre consumption would help reduce fat accumulation.

Kris-Etherton noted that fibre-rich foods tend to help people feel full on fewer calories, but whether a fibre-enhanced diet would actually help people lose visceral fat was a topic for future study.

The study did have some limitations — notably, the accuracy of what people remembered eating.

"When it looked at the dietary assessment, it was using a dietary recall," said Jessica Crandall, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "It's better to actually record your food as you go versus trying to remember what you've consumed."

However, she said, the study does yield another potential benefit for patients whom she is trying to encourage to eat more fibre.

"A lot of people want to avoid abdominal fat for the vanity of it as well as the health concerns that are associated with belly fat," Crandall said. "I think that it's a great point to reference to the public. It's yet another reason to encourage higher-fibre foods."

The study was published on line on June 16 in the journal Obesity. Courtesy of my healthy news daily.com
"How To Lose Belly Fat"