What Causes Fat Belly.

If you have a big stomach or a “pot belly”, you sure want to lose it. This is one ‘Asset”, you don’t want. Belly Fat, Stomach Fat or Fat on Stomach or Abdominal Fat or lower belly fat or Pot belly or big abdomen are words you don’t want to be associated with. It does give a feeling of envy when you see some one else walking past with flat abdomen. You want to lose this belly fat fast. You must know the causes of belly fat first, in order that you can rule them out in you  and make losing belly fat easier.

Causes of Belly Fat|Reasons for Stomach Fat.

1) Genetic Trait.

If it is in your genes to have a pot belly, you will have one and will need that extra

effort to lose belly fat.

2)   Menopause and belly fat in women.

In women, after menopause, fat starts getting deposited on various parts of the body, more   so around the midriff.

3)  Improper diet.

Avoid fried foods, junk food, and foods that contain saturated fats. These are the

fats  that increase the fat deposits in the body .

4) Lack of Exercise.

A sedentary life style or a life style with no physical exercise will increase belly

fat as the calories do not get burnt and get deposited in the body.

5) Late night dinners.

Eating about 2 to 3 hours before bedtime help in the metabolism of food.

6) Mental Stress causes belly fat.

Mental stress stimulates the release of cortisol hormone. Cortisol in turn stimulates the liver to produce more glucose. You feel more hungry and eat more. This extra  glucose, if not metabolized gets deposited as fat.

7) Advancing Age.

This does reduce metabolism. This causes less calories to be burnt and their

subsequent  conversion to fat, which gets deposited in the body.

Improper Digestion causes Belly fat .

This disorder, which is  due to stress and anxiety, alcoholism, smoking, improper

food habits, certain medicines and a hereditary trait  will cause a pot belly.

9) Alcoholism and belly fat.

Alcohol hampers the metabolism and therefore fat does not get properly metabolized. This  unmetabolized fat gets stored in the body especially around the mid riff.

10) Cushing’ syndrome and belly fat.

results in higher cortisol levels, which causes extra fat deposits as explained

above.

11) Certain medications causing belly fat.

If you are on certain medicines, they can give belly fat . You can get details of this at   Why you are not losing weight.

12) Foods which cause Belly Fat.

• Refined carbohydrates such as found in white sugar, white rice, refined flour, french fries among others, are major cause of obesity including belly fat. Their  nutrient value and fiber content  is low and they contain fructose. Now what does this mean? It means that when too much fructose enters the liver, the liver gets overloaded and cannot process the fructose into glucose which the body utilizes. As a result this excess fructose is converted into fat which gets deposited in the body including your midriff.  Secondly, fructose  interferes with the appetite regulating hormone and you  feel more hungry, causing you to eat more.
• Soda contains empty calories, meaning that these calories do not have any nutritional value and are converted into fats. Secondly, soda contains fructose which significantly adds to belly fat.
• Canned foods contain high quantities of salts which cause water retention in your body. This excess water retention causes belly to look bigger.

So, if you have any of the above life style habits or are associated with any of the causes of belly fat mentioned above, you would do well to incorporate the necessary changes in your daily habits.

Next: Belly fat – How do you “nuke” it.

Related posts:

1. How to Lose Belly Fat Fast.
2. Exercises to Lose Belly Fat.
3. The Diet To Lose Belly Fat.
4. Stomach Banding|Lap Band Surgery for Weight Loss.