It’s World Diabetes Day on November 14. Speaking of diabetes, people frequently assume that the only treatment for diabetics is medication. It is frequently overlooked how important it is for diabetics to adopt a lifestyle dedicated to lose visceral fat to improve blood glucose control.
Only overweight individuals develop diabetes?
Diabetes patients who are normal weight or underweight should also be given attention when it comes to losing body fat, rather than just diabetics who are obese.
According to a research article published, the researchers discovered that the visceral fat cell sizes of lean diabetics were larger, which is related to the development of diabetes.
What is visceral fat?
There are two types of body fat in our body – subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is what you feel when you poke your stomach because it is soft and close to the skin. However, visceral fat cannot be felt because it surrounds your organs beneath your abdominal wall.
Visceral fat, commonly known as belly fat, is extremely dangerous in large amounts and has been linked to a number of health complications, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, and others.
How is visceral fat related to diabetes?
Having a lot of visceral fat is associated to insulin resistance. According to the findings, visceral fat secretes retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), which has been shown to cause insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance occurs when your body cells in the muscles, fat, and liver do not respond well to insulin in order to absorb glucose from the blood. The pancreas continues to produce insulin in an attempt to get cells to respond.
When the pancreas eventually can’t keep up, blood sugar levels keep rising, which can cause type 2 diabetes and glucose intolerance.
How can you check if you have a lot of visceral fat?
Here are three options:
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Waist measurement
Checking your waist circumference is a convenient tool that can be done by using cutoff points for Asians (90 cm for men and 80 cm for women). However, measuring with a tape measure along the fat loss progress may not be consistent and may underestimate your visceral fat loss.
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Computed tomography (CT) scan
A computed tomography (CT) scan allows for the accurate analysis of subcutaneous and visceral fat separately. However, this requires access to a facility that has a unit, and a test can be costly. On top of that, you might need to be exposed to radiation.
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Professional Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)
A medical BIA test is an excellent alternative to a CT scan. This test calculate your body fat percentage, which includes visceral fat, by measuring the resistance of an electric current as it moves through your body.
This method would allow you to understand your visceral fat in a noninvasive, low-cost, and radiation-free manner. An InBody test, one of the professional BIA tests, can help you understand your visceral fat and take the first step toward changing your lifestyle for the better.
Want to know how to check visceral fat on the InBody result sheet?
Download the free interpretation poster right away.
How to lose visceral fat as a diabetics?
According to the study, a combination of diet and exercise can result in a 12.8% reduction in visceral fat and a 16% decrease in fasting glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It also matters what kind of exercise is most effective to lose visceral fat and improve diabetes control.
Furthermore, take your medication as prescribed by your doctor and monitor your blood glucose levels and visceral fat on a regular basis. If you learn that reducing visceral fat is beneficial to your blood glucose condition as a diabetic, this may keep you motivated to lead a healthier life.
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