BELLY FAT AND ITS CAUSES

INCREASING RATE OF BELLY FAT AND ITS CAUSES

   

Nowadays, almost everyone faces belly fat, love handles, a bloated stomach, and all other issues related to obesity. People with a normal body mass index (BMI) but still have excess belly fat. Possible reasons for the accumulation of belly fat :

SUGAR INTAKE: high sugar intake is one of the reasons which causes belly fat. This is mainly due to the extra refined sugar added during its processing. Also, excess sugar intake contributes to diabetes, which raises your risk for heart disease and raises blood pressure.

LACK OF EXERCISE: due to busy schedules, people don't get time for exercise, stay fit, and burn calories. If a person is consuming more calories than they burn off, they will put on weight. An inactive lifestyle contributes to belly fat.

TOO MUCH ALCOHOL: excessive consumption of alcohol can have both healthful and harmful effects. It may lead to liver disease, cancer, excess weight gain, and many other health problems because alcohol contains a high number of calories, and alcoholic beverages are high in sugar.

[moderate consumption of red wine may have health benefits as it regulates blood sugar, lowers bad cholesterol, and reduces the risk of cancer]

LOW PROTEIN DIET: 

high protein diets support weight loss and prevent weight gain by increasing fullness. Protein also supports muscle repair and growth, which contributes to metabolism and more calories burned at rest. To increase your protein intake, try to include highly protein-rich sources such as eggs, beans, lean meat, etc.

STRESS: 

When you are highly stressed, large amounts of insulins get released. When excess insulin and cortisol are released together, it creates fat-storing enzymes, which contribute to storing belly fat. Extreme levels of cortisol can also cause damage to cells, lowering their insulin sensitivity.

• WHY HEALTH-RELATED PROBLEMS ARE INCREASING IN INDIA?

Health-related problems are increasing at an alarming rate in India, says the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The majority of these issues are non-communicable diseases and the list also includes ailments such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic respiratory diseases, among others, WHO said.

The country is in the first place as regards chronic diseases, in which the human body is living long without any detectable correction to the DNA, experts said.

Cancer and cardiovascular disease are increasing and diabetes is still increasing even after many years of inclusion in the International Classification of Diseases, known as the ICD-11, said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, a consultant medical oncologist at Tata Memorial Hospital, in Mumbai, PTI reported.

These problems are due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), not according to the India State-Level Disease Burden (ISDLB) 2017.

While lifestyle changes and cancer screening are effective measures, India needs to put more effort into controlling NCDs.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people die prematurely as a result of cancer in India. This disproportionately affects India’s women, with the incidence of breast and cervical cancer higher in women than men in India.

In terms of non-communicable diseases, the burden of chronic respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is particularly high and is linked to tobacco smoke, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and exposure to second-hand smoke.

The fourth most important NCDs are chronic kidney diseases, mainly due to diabetes, which is also linked to lack of physical activity, Singh said.

The WHO said the two most important health risks in India are “poor quality of care and poor patient perception of quality of care”.

Data indicate that patients in low- and middle-income countries often do not feel that they are being well cared for, especially if they are in public sector hospitals.