Belly Fat
Everyone has fat in their body, with the pro bodybuilder having 10-12% body fat. It is essential for our body’s functioning. But sometimes, due to poor lifestyles and unhealthy eating habits, we store excessive fat in our bodies. The belly or stomach, whatever you say, is the first place where the fat starts to be stored. Belly fat reduction is also part of the weight loss journey.
The belly fat is classified into two parts.
- Subcutaneous stomach fat
- Visceral stomach fat
Subcutaneous stomach fat is the fat that is found beneath the skin. Women have higher subcutaneous fat compared to men. This fat is not linked to any health risk because it is not found in the abdominal cavities. But you cannot ignore belly fat because too much belly fat can cause many diseases like heart attack, diabetes 1 and 2, and increase the risk of cancer.
Visceral stomach fat is mostly found near the internal organs like abdominal tissue, stomach, liver, and pancreas. This fat is considered as the harmful fat in your body. This fat has much higher metabolic activities compared to subcutaneous fat. This fat increases the resistance to insulin, increases blood sugar, and causes diabetes. This fat has a greater chance of causing dangerous diseases compared to subcutaneous fat.
Cause of belly fat

Genetics: According to many researchers, genes influence the behavior of the body, such as slowing down the metabolism and causing psychological changes that lead to obesity and excessive belly fat.
Lack of exercise: The key part of the energy in, energy out equation is a person’s physical activity levels. A lack of physical activity is a primary risk factor for obesity and increases in body fat percentage. When a person burns fewer calories through activity than they consume, the body stores this excess as fat. Regular cardio exercise will speed up weight loss too.
Lack of sleep: It is seen that people with sleep issues have a higher chance of increasing visceral body fat. Not getting proper sleep can cause many unhealthy habits, such as emotional eating, and slow down the metabolism.
Higher stress level: Cortisol is a steroid hormone that helps the body manage stress levels. When the body feels stressed, then cortisol is released, which can slow the metabolism and increase the chances of gaining fat. Normally, people start eating when they feel stressed; that extra food’s calories will be stored around the belly.
Alcohol: Consuming alcohol is not good for our health. It can cause many health issues like inflammation, liver failure, and kidney issues. Also, some research shows a direct relationship between alcohol and gaining visceral fat. But, it has not shown any effect on subcutaneous fat.
Smoking: In general, people who smoke tend to have a lower BMI than nonsmokers. However, research shows that despite this general trend of lower body fat, smokers typically have higher levels of visceral abdominal fat than nonsmokers.
Unbalanced diet: Nowadays, people’s diets have large portions of fat and carbs and very little of other nutrients like protein and fiber. People do not burn that many calories within a certain time, which causes them to gain fat around the belly.
Health risks related to belly fat
There are so many health-related risks caused by belly fat. Belly fat slows down the metabolism and spikes the hormonal insulin that causes diabetes type 1 and 2; also, belly fat increases the risk of other chronic diseases like heart attack, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, asthma, breast cancer, colon cancer, and dementia.
Method to reduce belly fat without surgery
There are many methods available that help to reduce the fat around the belly, and the best thing is you don’t need any surgical procedure. Firstly, we will discuss some lifestyle changes such as exercise, a balanced diet, and maintaining good habits, and after that, we will discuss therapies such as Cryolipolysis, laser fat removal, red light therapy, ultrasound, and fat removal injection.
Lifestyle Changes
You can lose belly fat by doing exercises, following a strict diet, and avoiding alcohol, which will help you to lose fat. You may lose a few kg within 4-6 months, but to reduce excessive belly fat might take more than 1-2 years. But during the process of losing belly fat, you will make your body stronger and healthier. So before taking the help of doctors, you might try to lose belly fat through lifestyle changes, which have many benefits along with losing fat.
Getting more Sunlight
We all know that Sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D, a nutrient responsible for lifting our mood, boosting immunity, and keeping our bones healthy. It is also a fat-soluble vitamin. In simple words, sunlight helps to get rid of all the extra fat in the body.
Deficiency of this nutrient is also linked with obesity. In general, spending 10-15 minutes in the sunlight is enough in summer, but in winter one needs to spend 1 or 2 hours to get the recommended amount of vitamin D.Â
Taking the help of doctors
Both methods are non-surgical, but in this part, you need to take the help of doctors to reduce body fat. Which you cannot easily achieve through lifestyle changes. This method is mostly used to reduce visceral fats, which are associated with many diseases.
There are many therapies like Cryolipolysis, laser fat reduction, injectable treatments, ultrasound, and red light therapy that help to reduce visceral fat. The result of this method is faster than the lifestyle change.
Conclusion
A certain level of belly fat is normal. However too much can cause chronic diseases. These include heart attacks and type 1 and 2 diabetes. The reasons for gaining fat are poor diet, stress, alcohol, genetics, and lack of sleep.
Belly fat removal without surgery is possible just by following some lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, proper diet, managing stress, and seeking doctors’ help when necessary. The therapies that doctors use are cryolipolysis, laser fat reduction, injectable treatments, ultrasound, and red light therapy.