When pot bellies and spare tyres kill

The number of overweight people has increased at alarming rates in recent years.

The world is getting fatter. The number of overweight people has increased at alarming rates in recent years and doctors are now more concerned about where fat is stored in the body than how much fat you have totally.

Although the body distributes fat differently for each person, there are two types of fat storage.

Visceral fat is deeply hidden fat that wraps around the internal organs in your body. It accounts for about 15 to 20 per cent of body fat. Both genders are subject to this type of fat but men in general accumulate more visceral fat than women until women experience menopause, at which time their bodies begin accumulating more visceral than subcutaneous fat.

Subcutaneous fat is found beneath the skin and is about 80 per cent of all body fat. You could compare this type of fat to the many layers of an onion.

People are overly concerned about, obsessed with, hung up on and self-conscious about the fat they can see (the subcutaneous fat that jiggles and wiggles), when in reality it is the "hidden fat" - the deeply concealed visceral fat - that is the most dangerous.

Visceral fat, or fat that accumulates around the middle (belly fat) is the most dangerous from a health perspective. This type of fat actually produces inflammatory substances (cytokines) that wreak havoc on the body's internal organs.

People love to make fun of and joke about belly fat, calling it names like beer gut, spare tyre and pot belly but in truth, belly fat (visceral fat) poses much more of a potential risk to your overall health than carrying excess fat on other parts of your body does.

The presence of abdominal fat is a strong indicator (don't ignore the signs) of other serious health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and various forms of cancer and other degenerative diseases that may not be far off in the future if you don't step up to the plate and clear your body of this dangerous overload now. High blood pressure, high insulin levels and other issues are also at high risk with excess belly fat hanging around. Are you willing to take the risk?

The scary thing is you don't even have to be overweight to have this dangerous fat. You can actually appear skinny and yet be harbouring this dangerous visceral fat deep inside where it continues to damage important organs like your heart.

Body shape can to some extent reveal the kinds of fat present.

Apple-shaped people carry a large portion of their fat above their waist making them more susceptible to visceral fat than a pear-shaped person would be.

A pear-shaped person carries their body fat below the waist. But neither shape is immune from developing belly fat.

The good news is you can rid your body of this dangerous fat and restore the health of your organs but it requires dedication and determination and desire to be healthy. It requires your focus and energy on removing this dangerous fat.

Any program adopted to rid the body of dangerous belly fat must include all the following:

Proper diet Stay away from sugar. Studies prove that excess sugar (because of the amounts of fructose) actually leads to an increase in the accumulation of belly fat. Eat plenty of quality protein along with healthy fresh fruits and vegetables.

Quality sleep Deep, restful sleep plays a huge role in the health of our hormones and our body.

Challenging exercise Relays the message to your body that strength and life is important to you.

Motivation and dedicationThe fuel that keeps you focused on the health of your body.

In the end, it's not so much about the dip you'll see when stepping on the scales when losing visceral fat but the vital years you add to your life. Isn't that what really matters?

- Carolyn Hansen is co-owner of Anytime Fitness.