Exercise can change the composition of belly fat, study finds

Not all belly fat is the same. Journal “Nature Metabolism” A study published on September 10th found that obese people who take part in regular aerobic exercise have more healthy fat stored in their abdomens than obese people who don't.

The study followed 32 participants, both men and women, half of whom exercised four times a week for over two years, and the other half did not. In the end, even though their overall body fat percentage was the same, those who exercised consistently had a better effect on their belly fat.

“Fat is really misunderstood,” said Jeffrey Horowitz, a professor of exercise physiology in the University of Michigan's Kinesiology Department, who worked on the study. NBC News“The fat that we have in our bodies, especially the fat stored under our skin, is a very important place to store energy.”

Horowitz and his colleagues matched the two groups of participants for age, body fat percentage, sex, and BMI. They took samples of fat tissue from each participant's abdomen and measured blood flow, tissue firmness, and fiber content, and found that exercise remodeled abdominal fat in the active group. Their tissue was less fibrous, allowing certain fat cells to expand and store fat, which is a good thing.

That's because there are different types of fat. Subcutaneous fat is the fat just under your skin, the kind you can pinch around your abdomen. The other kind, called visceral fat, is stored deep inside your abdomen, between your organs, and is associated with a variety of health risks.

Regular exercise makes your fat cells more flexible, allowing them to store more fat under the skin, where it's less harmful to your body. If your fat cells weren't flexible enough to store fat there, it would end up stored between your organs.

Previous research has shown that abdominal fat caused by obesity is menopauseMany factors, including age, genetics, and dietary habits, can affect more than just your appearance. Excessive abdominal fat, especially visceral fat, can lead to high blood pressure, sleep apnea, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Mayo Clinic.

The study also found that the exercise group had less inflammation and more blood vessels in their fat tissue than the sedentary group, meaning they were able to draw more energy from their fat stores.

“The fact that there are more blood vessels flowing to these cells suggests that they have a more active metabolism,” Dr. Jaime Armandos, medical director of the Weight Wellness Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who was not involved in the study, told NBC News.

Exercising people also have greater insulin sensitivity, which helps lower the risk of diabetes.

“People who exercise regularly appear to have much healthier subcutaneous adipose tissue (body fat), which suggests better overall metabolic function,” Dr. Aayush Visalia, an internal medicine resident at Rutgers University's Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who was not involved in the study, told NBC News. “Obesity is a very complex issue with many variables, and it supports the overall idea that we shouldn't generalize about someone's body type.”

“We've already shown that body fat distribution matters, but now we have another layer that shows what kind of fat you have matters and how much exercise you do can really make a difference,” Visaglia added.

Fat is often thought of as bad, It's essential: it stores and releases energy, insulates the body, and is essential for hormone signaling. Cleveland ClinicHowever, having too much or too little fat can interfere with the way your body functions.

If you like, Reduce belly fatTODAY.com previously reported that people should consider choosing foods that take longer to digest, increasing their fiber and protein intake, exercising, monitoring their sleep and stress, and cutting back on their alcohol intake.