mens health > heart > abdominal fat

Gym Therapy

While innovative medications and therapeutic technics such as gene therapy hold out promise for further advances in preventing or curing heart disease in the future, there's no question that "gym therapy" is an approach that works right now.

Most people know that exercise lowers blood pressure, reduces total cholesteral and boosts HDL, the good fat. But exercise does much more than that...

As early as age 25, men begin to lose muscle and gain fat if they don't exercise regularly. So if you're 40 or 50 and weight the same as you did when you were 20, you probably now have a lot more fat - and less muscle - than you had back then.

Big Mac Land

IN men, much of that fat is deposited around the waist and abdomen.

Those painfully obvious "love handles" actually point to a condition known as abdominal obesity.

A less visible...but more insidious...type of fat known as visceral fat also settles deep inside the abdominal cavity, wrapping itself around several internal organs and is a risk factor for heart disease.

You Fat or Phat?

Fat is not an inert substance - it's actually considered an active organ. Among its harmful characteristics is the production of proteins called cytokines that promote inflammation and are associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Chronic inflammation can injure the lining of artery walls, making them susceptaible to the accumulation of fatty plaque deposit that can ultimately rupture and cause eventual heart attack or stroke.

Research Findings

A group of people took part in a supervides series of exercises for 60 minutes three times per week, combining aerobic and resistance exercises that worked the heart and circulation and all of the major muscle groups. At the end of the trial, the participants lost only an average of four pounds but a huge shift in their body composition took place. They dropped approximately 20 percent of their visceral fat.

Many diseases associated with getting older can be prevented or at least delayed. No matter how inactive you are now...if you start to increase your level of physical activity and maintain an active lifestyle, you will be less susceptible to heart disease, have less risk of developing diabetes and less risk of falling or breaking a bone.

It takes roughly three to five months of regular activity to cause significant changes in your health and fitness. Exercise is inexpensive, it's readily available and you can do it on your own. The options are endless and the results are guaranteed.

Drew Voight