24 SPRING 2015 C O M M U N I T Y H E A L T H

Too much belly fat can lead to accumulated fat in the liver. A certain percentage of those men go on to develop chronic liver disease.DR. REXFORD AHIMA, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PERELMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

A Bad BrewStop your beer belly from wreaking havoc on your health BY BENJI FELDHEIM

To most men, having a beer belly isnt that big of a deal. Theyre often seen as humorous. At times, theyre even seen as a rite of passagesome-thing that comes with entering your 30s, 40s and 50s.

What you may not know, though, is that if youre carrying extra weight around your midsection, you may be at risk for myriad health issues, and thats no laughing matter.

Belly fat, particularly the visceral fat that grows deep in the body around organs, is a risk factor for several dis-eases in men, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

When it comes to overweight men, the thing that everybody fears is heart disease, blocked coronaries lead-ing to a heart attack, says Dr. Rexford Ahima, professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

But too much belly fat can also lead to accumulated fat in the liver. A certain percentage of those men go on to develop chronic liver disease.

Men are exposed throughout their lives to hormones called androgens, like testosterone, which contribute to fat accumulating around mens middles, Ahima says.

Add that to a gradual decline in

physical activity as men age, and belly fat becomes more prevalent as men get older.

You can get rid of excess belly fat and keep it off, but it will take more than sit-ups and crunches.

Anita Mirchandani, a New York-based registered dietician and personal trainer, recommends body weight exer-cises that strengthen your corethink pushups, squats and yoga.

It doesnt have to be spot-train-ing or exercises dedicated to the abs, Mirchandani says. Its important to focus on the core as the main source of strength for your body, and doing so can help decrease belly fat.

On top of hitting up the gym, you should also keep an eye on what you eat since diet plays a huge role in reducing your gut size.

Ahima recommends eating 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day, limiting red meat, eating more plant-based proteins and being extra careful when drinking alcohol.

A can of beer is about 150 calories, so

HOW BIG IS TOO BIG? If your waist measures more than 40 inches around, youre probably carrying an unhealthy amount of belly fat. So, how do you figure out your number? Break out the mea-suring tape.1. WHILE STANDING, place a tape measure around your bare stom-ach, just above your hipbones. If your stomach droops, lie down to take the measurement.2. PULL THE TAPE MEASURE until it fits snugly around you, but doesnt push into your skin. Make sure the tape measure is level all the way around.3. RELAX, exhale and measure your waist.

SOURCE: MAYOCLINIC.ORG

it wouldnt take much to consume 500 calories of just beer alone, Ahima says.

If you eat on top of that, the body metabolizes alcohol first before other calorie sources. You tend to store more energy when that happens, and that can lead to weight gain.

Mirchandani says its also important to pay attention to when youre eat-ing so your body has time to burn it off. She suggests making breakfast the larg-est meal of the day, and gradually eating smaller amounts until bedtime.

The more activity you can do after a meal, the better the chance that meal will fuel the activity instead of getting stored in your body as fat, she says.

If you eat a large meal at night, theres a greater chance youll sleep on it.

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