Visceral fat is fat that wraps around your abdominal organs deep inside your body. You can’t always feel it or see it. In fact, you may have a pretty flat tummy and still have visceral fat. That’s sometimes called TOFI, or “thin outside fat inside.”

Only an expensive scan can measure how much belly fat is hiding in you, but your doctor won’t order a test just for that reason.

1.Dangers of Visceral Fat

Too much of any body fat is bad for your health. But compared to the fat that lies just underneath your skin (subcutaneous fat), the visceral kind is more likely to raise your risk for serious medical issues. Heart disease, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and high cholesterol are some of the conditions that are strongly linked to too much fat in your trunk.

Researchers suspect that visceral fat makes more of certain proteins that inflame your body’s tissues and organs and narrow your blood vessels. That can make your blood pressure go up and cause other problems

2.How to Measure It

There’s no way to know where and how much visceral fat is hidden in your body without expensive imaging tests. You’re unlikely to ever need those.

Waist size. This is an easy way to get a rough estimate. Wrap a tape measure around your waist over your belly button. (Don’t suck in your stomach!) In women, 35 inches or more is a sign of visceral fat. In men, it’s 40 inches. Warning: This is a crude tool, especially if you’re a very big person. And if you’re of Asian descent, the benchmark for visceral fat drops to 31.5 inches for women and 35.5 inches for men.

Body shape

Look in the mirror. Where your body tends to store fat can offer you a clue. If you’re an apple — a big trunk and slimmer legs — it often can mean more visceral fat. This body shape is more common among men. Women are more likely to be pears — with bigger hips and thighs. Research shows that upper body fat is more dangerous to your health, which might be one reason why women usually live longer than men.

How to Get Rid of It ?

You don’t need to follow a special diet or do special exercises to banish belly fat. Just follow the usual strategy for getting trimmer and fitter.

Keep moving Exercise can help you shed both visceral fat and subcutaneous fat you can see and pinch. And if you lose weight through diet, exercise can help you keep it off. Every bit helps. Go for walks after dinner. Take the stairs. Bike instead of drive. Aim for at least 30 minutes of this kind of moderate aerobic exercise very day.

Eat smart Studies suggest that more calcium and vitamin D in your body may be linked to less visceral fat. So load up on leafy greens like collards and spinach. Tofu and sardines are also good picks, as are dairy foods like yogurt, cheese, and milk.

On the other hand, certain foods seem to encourage belly fat. One of them is trans fats, which are found in meats and dairy as well as in deep-fried or processed foods. Also bad are sodas, candy, processed baked goods, and other foods sweetened with fructose. So read the labels and avoid ingredients like “partially hydrogenated oils” or “high-fructose corn syrup.” And follow the usual rules for healthy eating, with lots of fresh produce, whole grains like wheat breads and oatmeal, and lean protein like skinless chicken, fish, eggs, beans, and low-fat dairy.

Exercise

When possible, exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. Make sure to include both cardio exercises and strength training.

Cardio includes aerobic exercise, such as:

circuit training
biking
running
It will burn fat faster.

Strength training will slowly burn more calories over time as your muscles get stronger and consume more energy.

Ideally, do 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week and strength training at least 3 times per week

Diet

It’s also important to follow a healthy, well-balanced diet.

As often as possible, eliminate processed, high sugar foods from your diet and include more lean proteins, vegetables, and complex carbs, such as sweet potatoes, beans, and lentils.

Low carb diets, such as the keto diet, may also help you lose visceral fat.

Discover other ways to reduce visceral fat.

Lifestyle

The stress hormone cortisol can actually increase how much visceral fat your body stores, so reducing the stress in your life will help make it easier to lose the fat.

Practice meditation, deep breathing, and other stress management tactics.

Outlook

Visceral fat isn’t visible, so we don’t always know it’s there. That makes it that much more dangerous. On the other hand, it’s usually preventable.

Maintaining a healthy, active, low-stress lifestyle can help prevent visceral fat from building up in excess in the abdominal cavity.