Everyone knows that having too much fat in the belly is considered a bad thing and that it is unhealthy. You increase the risk of all sorts of diseases such as: diabetes, cardiovascular problems, issues with metabolism, cancer, and so much more.
When you have too much, belly fat you increase the risk of developing all sorts of medical problems. You increase the chance that you will live a shorter life. This is why you are here. You will learn about the reasons why you have more belly fat. Then you will be able to take steps to counter it and take action.
Within the medical community, this is called “visceral fat.” It is the fat that surrounds your liver and other areas within the abdominals. Did you know that you can develop issues with your health even if you are of normal weight and have some extra fat on your belly? You might be surprised to hear that but it is true.
There are several reasons to why people get more belly fat in the stomach. This article will explain several major reasons to why this occurs.
Top 8 Reasons Why You Keep Gaining Belly Fat & More Body Weight
1. Trans Fat
The unhealthiest fat out there is called trans-fat. The way trans-fats are made is by taking unsaturated fats and mixing it with hydrogen. The new substance is significantly more stable. The benefit of the use of trans-fat is due to increased preservation capabilities. This is why many corporations add trans-fat to all sorts of foods. They put them in bread, pizza, cookies, cakes, crackers, popcorn, muffins, and so much more.
Statistics have indicated that if you want increased inflammation, develop diabetes, have cardiovascular problems, and so much more – you consume a lot of trans-fats. There are also a variety of scientific studies out there that indicate that trans-fat can lead to more belly fat in your stomach. One interesting study, was conducted on monkeys.
The monkeys that were given a diet that contained trans-fat experienced a 9% increase in their total body weight. They also gained more belly fat as well. This occurred despite both the placebo and the control group eating the same amount of calories to maintain the weight. It is clear that the trans-fat makes you gain weight, even if you consume enough calories in other areas to maintain your weight.
Conclusion: Trans-fat is very bad for you and can increase the risk of you developing all sorts of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. It can also increase your belly fat dramatically. Stay away from trans-fat and you will not deal with this problem.
2. Not Having Enough Sleep
Most people are aware of the importance of having enough sleep each night. It is extremely critical for your body to recover and be able to grow. Not getting enough sleep can be detrimental to your health.
Sleep deprivation is used as a method of torture by many intelligence agencies. People have died because of not having enough sleep. It is extremely critical for your health. People need to sleep in order to stay alive. There are a variety of scientific studies out there that have confirmed that having not sleep, plays a big role in how you can gain/lose weight.
Not having enough sleep leads to people gaining more weight on average. People who had 5 hours of sleep or less were more likely to gain a significant amount of weight compared to the people who had 7 hours or more. There is also good data indicating that people who have sleep apnea, are significantly more likely to develop obesity.
People who are obese and had sleep apnea, had more belly fat on average compared to the people who were obese and did not have sleep apnea. More research would have to be done in this area, but the research is pretty conclusive at the moment. Sleep more and you will be able to reduce your risk of gaining weight in general.
Conclusion: Not having enough sleep will increase the probability of you gaining a lot of weight. If you want to reduce your chances of gaining weight and even lose it, sleep more.
3. Genetics Play a Role in Whether You Get Belly Fat or Not
This is a uncomfortable topic for many people. Yes, genes play a big role in whether you will get fat or not. Some people are naturally skinny and it will be quite difficult for them to gain weight. Some are naturally fat and find it easy to gain lots of weight naturally. Genetics play a huge role in this.
How your body stores fat and the amount of energy it takes to burn it off, is determined by the kind of genes you have. Research has found three new genes that can be associated with obesity and having lots of fat in the hip area. More studies would need to be done in this are as it’s a relatively new discovery.
Conclusion: There is good evidence indicating that genes play a major role in how your body determines how fat is stored. There is nothing you can really do about your genes other than just deal with the cards that you have been dealt with.
4. Stress Is Making You Fatter
This should be a no brainer. If you are more stressed you increase the risk of developing more fat all over the body. Cortisol is the primary hormone that deals with the amount of stress that you get from day to day life.
It is necessary for the survival of the human body. When too much cortisol is formed, you can gain a lot of weight if you do not properly manage it. When people are stressed, their appetites increase because of the increased cortisol in their body.
When someone decides to eat at a very stressed state, there’s a high chance that the food will be immediately converted into fat and stored. This is not something you want if you do not want to gain more weight.
Conclusion: Cortisol is the primary hormone responsible for stress. It leads to weight gain because it makes you eat more. Learn to be less stressed and you will be able to eliminate this risk quickly.
5. Lack of Physical Activity Is What Is Making You Fatter
This should not be a surprise either. If you are not physically active, you will give your body more reason to just store more fat away for the future. This means you are increasing the chances that you will just gain more weight? Why?
When your body is constantly idle and not being active, your body needs significantly less calories to maintain it. People tend to overeat and thus gain a lot of weight as a result. People are becoming less and less physically active as decades go on.
This is primarily because of technological innovation and the reduced need to do backbreaking labor. However, this is leading to increased risk of developing obesity and gaining a lot more weight. Scientific studies are indicating that just by being physically inactive, people gain a lot of weight and increase their risk of developing obesity.
It is a no brainier that if you are more physically active and do more exercise, you will lose weight. This is because you are putting your body to work. You are expending more calories and you are giving your body a reason to use up all the fat that is stored.
Not only do you lose weight, but there are a number of health benefits that come from doing physical exercise. You feel better, get more energy, sleep better, live a longer life, and so much more. You can lose up to 30-50% of your belly if you are more physically active.
Conclusion: If you do not exercise you will gain more weight naturally. Find a way to be more physically active and you will be able to lose weight and feel great.
6. Alcohol Will Make You Fatter
If you are a heavy drinker and you want to lose weight, maybe it is time to consider dropping the habit. Drinking alcohol in moderate amounts has been shown to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular problems and even reduce the risk of stroke. However, excess consumption of alcohol has been shown to destroy people’s livers, significant inflammation around the body, gain a lot of weight, and so much more.
Many scientific studies out there show that alcohol actively stops fat burning forces from working in your body. This is quite detrimental to the goal of losing weight or to stop gaining more weight. There is a reason why the term, “beer belly” was invented. It is common knowledge that if you drink lots of alcohol you will gain more weight in the stomach area.
Alcohol is unique in that most of the weight gain that you get is primarily targeted in the belly. Hence, the term “beer belly.” If you want to get rid of that belly fat, it is time to consider reducing your alcohol consumption and getting rid of it altogether.
7. Your Gut and How It Affects Your Belly Fat
Most people are not aware of all the bacteria that’s in your body. There are millions of different kinds of bacteria that reside in your body. Most of these bacteria provide significant health benefits to your body. However, there are some harmful ones out there.
Did you know that there is something called gut flora that resides in your digestive system? These are life forms that live within your digestive system. It is extremely important to maintain the health of your gut. Why? Because your gut plays a role in keeping your immune system strong and healthy.
Your immune system is the body’s mechanism to fight off disease and preventing them from becoming too strong. There needs to be an ideal balance within your gut flora. An ideal balance of positive bacteria and harmful bacteria. When this balance is disrupted, you increase your chance of developing all sorts of diseases.
You increase your risk of developing all sorts of cancer, cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and so much more. You can also gain a significant amount of weight if there is an imbalance of gut bacteria. The research has confirmed the relationship between imbalanced bacteria systems and how much weight you gain.
It is recommended that you consult a medical professional to determine the health of your gut. Some solutions you can take is the consumption of probiotics. Probiotics are positive bacteria that can help you with your body. This can be the ideal way of restoring the balance within your system. You can also consume foods such as yogurt which is known to have probiotics inside them.
Conclusion: There is a relationship between having a imbalanced gut and gaining weight. Having an imbalanced gut also increases your chances of developing all sorts of diseases and health balances. It is recommended that you take steps to balance your gut health in order to take care of your body. You will enjoy many benefits by doing so.
8. Sugar Leads to Weight Gain
This is common knowledge. The research indicates that the consumption of sugar and high fructose corn syrup in large amounts, will lead to weight gain. You can gain lot of belly fat by drinking lots of soda and foods that are rich in high fructose corn syrup.
The problem with foods that contain sugar is that your body does not know when to stop consuming them. They can be highly addictive and should be avoided at all costs.
Why You Keep Gaining Belly Fat Conclusion
Now that you have finished this article, you are now aware of the major reasons why you might have more belly fat. Most of the reasons listed in this article are largely fixable. You can sleep more, be less stressed, drink less alcohol, do more exercise, and avoid the consumption of trans-fat.
These are things that are doable if you want to do them. If you are not willing to take action in order to get rid of the belly fat, then the belly fat will just stay there.
