If You're Not Buddha That Belly Ain't Cute!

We've all seen the Buddha with his big belly! In ceertain cultures rubbing his belly is thought to bring good luck. But research shows belly fat increases your chances of developing heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even cancer. Researchers found that people with the most belly fat had about double the risk of dying prematurely as did people with the least amount of belly fat. And the bigger the belly, the death risk increased whether the participants were overweight or not.

So why is stomach fat so dangerous as opposed to lets say, thigh fat?  It's dangerous because it is often visceral fat. This is the kind of fat that surrounds the abdominal organs and is very hard to detect. Thigh fat, which is usually subcutaneous fat, may not be that good to look at, but it's not as risky. This is the kind of fat you can see and grab onto. You know like those love handles and beer bellies. It doesn't look so great, but it's not so risky.

So what can you do if you're a Buddha look-alike, start with the suggestions below and soon that Buddha belly will be a thing of the past!

1. Check your waist-to-hip ratio. If  measurements show that your waist is bigger than your hips, you must try to lose some of your belly weight. Women should epecially watch out if your waist expands beyond 35 inches because this increases your risk for heart disease. To check you ratio:  http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/waist_hip.asp
2. Make sure that your diet has no more than 20% to 35% of your daily calories from fat. Try to make it the good kind of  fat - either mono- or polyunsaturated fats. 
3.  Moderate exercise helps to fend off the fat, and more strenuous activity burns off existing fat. The good news is that belly fat is usually the first fat to go once you start losing weight.