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Welcome to the Quality Counts. For those health conscious consumers and medical professionals that are looking to purchase nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbs, learning about medications, losing weight, health food, low carbs, high protein nutrition, and exercise, you have come to the right place. Quality Counts serves both the medical practitioner and consumer interested in nutritional therapy and alternative medicine.

Home > Health Conditions > Pot Bellies

Abdominal Fat/Pot Bellies

What do I take to reduce abdominal fat?  PGX™ , chromium, pioglitazone and metformin to reduce blood glucose/insulin (see item 1 on my home page) and phosphatidylserine to reduce cortisol plus DHEA and CLA.

Two hormones involved with abdominal fat cortisol and insulin and an enzyme called 11beta-HSD-1 are reduced by Avandia (rosiglitazone) in some people.  See the articles on Avandia at the bottom of this page.  Check with your doctor before taking it.  See Avandia at OffshoreRx.com.

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Alternative News:

  • Association Between Visceral Obesity and Sarcopenia and Vitamin D Deficiency in Older Koreans: The Ansan Geriatric Study - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012 Feb 8 - "Greater visceral fat and lower muscle mass were associated with lower 25(OH)D levels in elderly Korean men, suggesting that screening for vitamin D deficiency may be appropriate in older Koreans with visceral obesity or sarcopenia. Sarcopenic obesity as defined according to prespecified criteria did not have an additive association with 25(OH)D levels" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
  • Calcium plus vitamin D may cut body fat levels: RCT data - Nutra USA, 12/16/11 - "Orange juice providing a daily 1050 mg dose of calcium and 300 IU vitamin D was associated with a significant reduction in visceral adipose tissue in overweight and obese adults, compared with adults drinking a non-fortified juice ... For the new study, Dr Kaplan and his co-workers recruited 171 overweight and obese people with an average age of 40 to participate in their two 16-week parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. One trial involved the regular beverage and the second trial involved the reduced-energy (lite) version ... The test groups consumed three 240 mL glasses of the regular or lite orange juice per day. The total daily dose of calcium was 1050 mg and 100 IU vitamin D per serving. The control groups were given the same juices but without the addition of the vitamin and mineral ... the visceral adipose tissue in people consuming the regular fortified orange juice decreased by an average of 12.7 cm2, compared with only 1.3 cm2 in the control regular juice ... the lite fortified juice group displayed visceral adipose tissue reductions of 13.1 cm2 [2.03 square inches], compared with 6.4 cm2 [0.992 square inches] in the lite control group ... On the other hand, no differences between any of the groups were recorded in terms of average weight loss" - [Abstract] - Note: Don't confuse square inches with just inches.  Inches2 doesn't mean inches1.  Picture a two inch cube of water put into some kid of plastic belt that spreads around your waist area.  See vitamin D products at iHerb.
  • A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of aerobic vs. resistance exercise training on visceral fat - Obes Rev. 2011 Sep 26 - "systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to assess the efficacy of exercise interventions on VAT content/volume in overweight and obese adults ... These data suggest that aerobic exercise is central for exercise programmes aimed at reducing VAT, and that aerobic exercise below current recommendations for overweight/obesity management may be sufficient for beneficial VAT modification"
  • Foods rich in protein, dairy products help dieters preserve muscle and lose belly fat - Science Daily, 8/29/11 - "a higher-protein, lower-carbohydrate energy-restricted diet has a major positive impact on body composition, trimming belly fat and increasing lean muscle, particularly when the proteins come from dairy products ... compared three groups of overweight and obese, but otherwise healthy, premenopausal women. Each consumed either low, medium or high amounts of dairy foods coupled with higher or lower amounts of protein and carbohydrates ... there were identical total weight losses among the groups, but the higher-protein, high-dairy group experienced greater whole-body fat and abdomen fat losses, greater lean mass gains and greater increases in strength ... One hundred per cent of the weight lost in the higher-protein, high-dairy group was fat. And the participants gained muscle mass, which is a major change in body composition ... the lower-protein, low-dairy group lost about a pound and half of muscle whereas the lower-protein, medium dairy group lost almost no muscle. In marked contrast, the higher-protein, high-dairy group actually gained a pound and half of muscle, representing a three-pound difference between the low- and high-dairy groups ... On top of the muscle mass differences, the higher-protein, high-dairy group lost twice as much belly fat than the lower-protein, low-dairy group ... These women also got fitter and stronger" - See my yogurt recipe on my yogurt page.
  • Aerobic exercise bests resistance training at burning belly fat - Science Daily, 8/25/11 - "Belly or abdominal fat -- known in scientific communities as visceral fat and liver fat -- is located deep within the abdominal cavity and fills the spaces between internal organs. It's been associated with increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, and certain kinds of cancer ... The Duke study showed aerobic training significantly reduced visceral fat and liver fat, the culprit in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Aerobic exercise also did a better job than resistance training at improving fasting insulin resistance, and reducing liver enzymes and fasting triglyceride levels. All are known risk factors for diabetes and heart disease ... Resistance training achieved no significant reductions in visceral fat, liver fat, liver enzyme levels or improvements in insulin resistance. The combination of aerobic with resistance ... What really counts is how much exercise you do, how many miles you walk and how many calories you burn ... If you choose to work at a lower aerobic intensity, it will simply take longer to burn the same amount of unhealthy fat"
  • Increased Consumption of Dairy Foods and Protein during Diet- and Exercise-Induced Weight Loss Promotes Fat Mass Loss and Lean Mass Gain in Overweight and Obese Premenopausal Women - J Nutr. 2011 Jul 20 - "Weight loss can have substantial health benefits for overweight or obese persons; however, the ratio of fat:lean tissue loss may be more important. We aimed to determine how daily exercise (resistance and/or aerobic) and a hypoenergetic diet varying in protein and calcium content from dairy foods would affect the composition of weight lost in otherwise healthy, premenopausal, overweight, and obese women. Ninety participants were randomized to 3 groups (n = 30/group): high protein, high dairy (HPHD), adequate protein, medium dairy (APMD), and adequate protein, low dairy (APLD) differing in the quantity of total dietary protein and dairy food-source protein consumed: 30 and 15%, 15 and 7.5%, or 15 and <2% of energy, respectively. Body composition was measured by DXA at 0, 8, and 16 wk and MRI (n = 39) to assess visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume at 0 and 16 wk. All groups lost body weight (P < 0.05) and fat (P < 0.01); however, fat loss during wk 8-16 was greater in the HPHD group than in the APMD and APLD groups (P < 0.05). The HPHD group gained lean tissue with a greater increase during 8-16 wk than the APMD group, which maintained lean mass and the APLD group, which lost lean mass (P < 0.05). The HPHD group also lost more VAT as assessed by MRI (P < 0.05) and trunk fat as assessed by DXA (P < 0.005) than the APLD group. The reduction in VAT in all groups was correlated with intakes of calcium (r = 0.40; P < 0.05) and protein (r = 0.32; P < 0.05). Therefore, diet- and exercise-induced weight loss with higher protein and increased dairy product intakes promotes more favorable body composition changes in women characterized by greater total and visceral fat loss and lean mass gain" - Note:  See the yogurt recipe on my yogurt page.
  • Soluble fiber strikes a blow to belly fat - Science Daily, 6/27/11 - "All fat is not created equal. Unsightly as it is, subcutaneous fat, the fat right under the skin, is not as dangerous to overall health as visceral fat, the fat deep in the belly surrounding vital organs ... the way to zero in and reduce visceral fat is simple: eat more soluble fiber from vegetables, fruit and beans, and engage in moderate activity ... for every 10-gram increase in soluble fiber eaten per day, visceral fat was reduced by 3.7 percent over five years. In addition, increased moderate activity resulted in a 7.4 percent decrease in the rate of visceral fat accumulation over the same time period ... a higher rate of visceral fat is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes and fatty liver disease ... Ten grams of soluble fiber can be achieved by eating two small apples, one cup of green peas and one-half cup of pinto beans; moderate activity means exercising vigorously for 30 minutes, two to four times a week"
  • Plant oil may hold key to reducing obesity-related medical issues, researcher finds - Science Daily, 3/23/11 - "a University of Missouri researcher has found a plant oil that may be able to reduce belly fat in humans ... a specific plant oil, known as sterculic oil, may be a key in the fight against obesity. Sterculic oil is extracted from seeds of the Sterculia foetida tree. The oil contains unique fatty acids known to suppress a bodily enzyme associated with insulin resistance, which could indirectly help with reducing belly fat ... Perfield added sterculic oil to the feed of rats that are genetically disposed to have a high amount of abdominal fat. He tested the rats over the course of 13 weeks and found that rats given a diet supplemented with sterulic oil had less abdominal fat and a decreased likelihood of developing diabetes. Perfield gave the rats a relatively small dose of oil each day, comparable to giving three grams to a 250-pound human"
  • Low blood levels of vitamin D linked to chubbier kids, faster weight gain - Science Daily, 11/8/10 - "the kids with the lowest vitamin D levels at the beginning tended to gain weight faster than the kids with higher levels ... children with the lowest vitamin D levels had more drastic increases in central body fat measures ... Vitamin D deficiency was also linked to slower growth in height among girls but not boys" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
  • Association between red meat consumption and metabolic syndrome in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk: Cross-sectional and 1-year follow-up assessment - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Sep 26 - "Subjects in the upper quartile of RM consumption were more likely to meet the criteria for the MetS at baseline (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4-3.9; P-trend = 0.001) and after 1-year follow-up (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.3-3.7; P-trend = 0.034) compared with those in the quartile of reference, even after adjusting for potential confounders. The longitudinal analyses showed that individuals in the fourth quartile of RM consumption had an increased risk of MetS (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.1-6.8; P-trend = 0.009) or central obesity incidence (OR, 8.1; 95% CI, 1.4-46.0; P-trend = 0.077) at the end of the follow-up compared to the lowest quartile"
  • Whole- and refined-grain intakes are differentially associated with abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adiposity in healthy adults: the Framingham Heart Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 29 - "visceral adipose tissue (VAT) ... Increasing whole-grain intake is associated with lower VAT in adults, whereas higher intakes of refined grains are associated with higher VAT" - See Lundberg, Organic Brown Rice Pasta, Penne, 12 oz (340 g) at iHerb.
  • Effect of a high-calcium energy-reduced diet on abdominal obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in obese Brazilian subjects - Int J Clin Pract. 2010 Jul;64(8):1076-83 - "(i) a low-calcium diet (LCD; < 500 mg/day) or (ii) a HCD [1200-1300 mg/day ... 16 weeks of energy restriction, a significant reduction was observed in all anthropometric parameters, metabolic variables (except for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and blood pressure levels in both the groups. Insulin was significantly reduced only in the HCD group. Subjects on the HCD compared with those on the LCD exhibited a greater reduction in waist circumference (p = 0.002), waist-to-hip ratio (p = 0.0001), diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.04) and mean blood pressure (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Our study suggests that increased calcium intake may enhance the beneficial effects of energy restriction on abdominal obesity and blood pressure"
  • Fructose sugar makes maturing human fat cells fatter, less insulin-sensitive, study finds - Science Daily, 6/21/10 - "high levels of fructose, which may result from eating a diet high in fructose, throughout childhood may lead to an increase in visceral [abdominal] obesity, which is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk ... For both types of fat cells, maturation in fructose decreased the cells' insulin sensitivity, which is the ability to successfully take up glucose from the bloodstream into fat and muscles. Decreased insulin sensitivity is a characteristic of Type 2 diabetes"
  • Probiotics may help fat and weight loss: Study - Nutra USA, 6/11/10 - "Twelve weeks of consuming a fermented milk product containing the Lactobacillus strain was associated with a 4.6 per cent reduction in abdominal fat, and a 3.3 per cent reduction in subcutaneous fat" - [Abstract]
    • See Yogourmet Electric Yogurt Maker - I've had a lot of yogurt makers over the years but this is the best one I've found.  I mix two cups of Nestle Nido Instant Dry Whole Milk (available at Amazon) with two cups of dry skim milk in a blender.  Lately I've been making it with Activa. I believe it's only sold flavored but I've been using the strawberry flavored Activa.  I put the milk powders in a blender then fill it with water and blend.  Then add one container of the Activa and blend fast one more time (not to kill the culture).  Then pour it into the jar and fill the jar to the top with additional water and leave it in the yoghurt maker for 13 hours.  I mix the finished product with Smucker's Strawberry Orchard's Finest.  If your worried about the BPA's from the plastic container, see Widemouth Clear Half Gallon Glass Jar (64oz) w/ White Metal Lid  at specialtybottles.com.
    • Activia by Dannon - "Specialists at Dannon® selected Bifidus Regularis™ for Activia® because it survives passage through the digestive tract, arriving in the colon as a living culture. Once there, it plays a beneficial role in your intestinal ecosystem"
  • Regulation of abdominal adiposity by probiotics (Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055) in adults with obese tendencies in a randomized controlled trial - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jun;64(6):636-43 - "fermented milk (FM) ... In the active FM group, abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat areas significantly (P<0.01) decreased from baseline by an average of 4.6% (mean (confidence interval): -5.8 (-10.0, -1.7) cm(2)) and 3.3% (-7.4 (-11.6, -3.1) cm(2)), respectively. Body weight and other measures also decreased significantly (P<0.001) as follows: body weight, 1.4% (-1.1 (-1.5, -0.7) kg); BMI, 1.5% (-0.4 (-0.5, -0.2) kg/m(2)); waist, 1.8% (-1.7 (-2.1, -1.4) cm); hip, 1.5% (-1.5 (-1.8, -1.1) cm). In the control group, by contrast, none of these parameters decreased significantly. High-molecular weight adiponectin in serum increased significantly (P<0.01) in the active and control groups by 12.7% (0.17 (0.07, 0.26) microg/ml) and 13.6% (0.23 (0.07, 0.38) microg/ml), respectively. CONCLUSION: The probiotic LG2055 showed lowering effects on abdominal adiposity, body weight and other measures, suggesting its beneficial influence on metabolic disorders"
  • Drinking Tea May Trim Men's Waistlines - WebMD, 1/29/10 - "In men, the use of sugar in tea was associated with a nearly 1-inch smaller waist measurement, but the use of artificial sweeteners was linked to a nearly 2-inch larger waistline ... Among women, the use of milk in tea was associated with a two-thirds-of-an-inch smaller waistline. But women who used artificial sweeteners had an average of nearly an inch larger waistline" - See Jarrow green tea extract at iHerb.
  • Pomegranate oil-seaweed mix may improve liver health and waist size - Nutra USA, 1/25/10 - "Results showed that body weight was significantly reduced by an average of 5.5 kg in people in the NAFLD group and 4.9 kg in the normal liver function group. Women in the placebo group lost an average of 1.4 kilos. In addition, women with NAFLD experienced improvements in waist circumference, body and liver fat content, liver enzymes, and serum triglycerides" - [Abstract] - 5.5 kg is 12.1 pounds - See Garden of Life, FucoThin, Natural Fat Burner, 180 Softgels (200 mg of Xanthigen Proprietary Blend) at iHerb.
  • The effects of Xanthigen in the weight management of obese premenopausal women with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and normal liver fat - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2010 Jan;12(1):72-81 - "Xanthigen-600/2.4 mg (300 mg PSO + 300 mg brown seaweed extract containing 2.4 mg fucoxanthin) resulted in statistically significant reduction of body weight (5.5 +/- 1.4 kg NAFLD group and 4.9 +/- 1.2 kg NLF group, p < 0.05), waist circumference (NAFLD group only), body (3.5 +/- 1.9 kg NAFLD group, p < 0.001; 3.6 +/- 0.7 kg NLF group, p < 0.05) and liver fat content, liver enzymes (NAFLD group only), serum triglycerides and C-reactive protein. Weight loss and reduction in body and liver fat content occurred earlier in patients with NLF than in patients with NAFLD. Fucoxanthin (> 2.4 mg) and Xanthigen-400/1.6 mg (200 mg PSO + 200 mg brown seaweed extract containing 1.6 mg fucoxanthin) significantly increased REE in NAFLD subjects compared to placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Xanthigen promoted weight loss, reduced body and liver fat content, and improved liver function tests in obese non-diabetic women. Xanthigen and Fucoxanthin also increased REE. This product may be considered a promising food supplement in the management of obesity" - See Garden of Life, FucoThin, Natural Fat Burner, 180 Softgels (200 mg of Xanthigen Proprietary Blend) at iHerb.
  • Dietary Fiber May Help Prevent Body Weight, Waist Circumference Gain - Medscape, 1/6/10 - "There was an inverse association of total fiber intake with subsequent change in weight and in waist circumference. For each 10-g/day increase in total fiber intake, the pooled estimate was –39 g/year (95% confidence interval [CI], –71 to –7 g/year) for weight change and –0.08 cm/year (95% CI, –0.11 to –0.05 cm/year) for waist circumference change ... For each 10-g/day increase in fiber intake from cereals, there was a weight change of –77 g/year (95% CI, –127 to –26 g/year) and change in waist circumference of –0.10 cm/year (95% CI, –0.18 to –0.02 cm/year). Fruit and vegetable fiber was not associated with weight change. However, the association of fruit and vegetable fiber intake with change in waist circumference was similar to that seen for intake of total dietary fiber and cereal fiber"
  • Whole-Grain Intake and Cereal Fiber Are Associated with Lower Abdominal Adiposity in Older Adults - J Nutr. 2009 Sep 2 - "After adjustment for covariates, whole-grain intake was inversely associated with BMI [26.8 kg/m(2) (25.7-28.1) vs. 25.8 kg/m(2) (24.6-27.1), (95% CI); P-trend = 0.08], percent body fat [34.5% (32.7-36.3) vs. 32.1% (30.1-34.1); P-trend = 0.02], and percent trunk fat mass [43.0% (40.4-45.5) vs. 39.4% (36.7-42.1); P-trend = 0.02] in the lowest compared with the highest quartile category of whole-grain intake. Refined grain intake was not associated with any measure of body fat distribution. Cereal fiber was inversely associated with BMI [27.3 kg/m(2) (26.1-28.6) vs. 25.4 kg/m(2) (24.3-26.7); P-trend = 0.012], percent body fat [34.7% (32.8-36.6) vs. 31.5% (29.4-33.5); P-trend = 0.004], and percent trunk fat mass [42.8% (40.2-45.4) vs. 37.8% (35.0-40.6) ... Higher intakes of cereal fiber, particularly from whole-grain sources, are associated with lower total percent body fat and percent trunk fat mass in older adults"
  • Successful Weight Loss With Dieting Is Linked To Vitamin D Levels - Science Daily, 6/11/09 - "the authors found that baseline, or pre-diet, vitamin D levels predicted weight loss in a linear relationship. For every increase of 1 ng/mL in level of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol—the precursor form of vitamin D and a commonly used indicator of vitamin D status—subjects ended up losing almost a half pound (0.196 kg) more on their calorie-restricted diet. For each 1-ng/mL increase in the active or "hormonal" form of vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol), subjects lost nearly one-quarter pound (0.107 kg) more ... Additionally, higher baseline vitamin D levels (both the precursor and active forms) predicted greater loss of abdominal fat" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
  • Conjugated Linoleic Acids Reduce Body Fat in Healthy Postmenopausal Women - J Nutr. 2009 Jun 3 - "Isomers of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) reduce fat mass (FM) and increase insulin sensitivity in some, but not all, murine studies. In humans, this effect is still debatable. In this study, we compared the effect of 2 CLA supplements on total and regional FM assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, changes in serum insulin and glucose concentrations, and adipose tissue (AT) gene expression in humans. In a double-blind, parallel, 16-wk intervention, we randomized 81 healthy postmenopausal women to 1) 5.5 g/d of 40/40% of cis9,trans11-CLA (c9,t11-CLA) and trans10,cis12-CLA (t10,c12-CLA) (CLA-mix); 2) cis9, trans11-CLA (c9,t11-CLA); or 3) control (olive oil) ... The CLA-mix group had less total FM (4%) and lower-body FM (7%) than the control (P = 0.02 and < 0.001, respectively). Post hoc analyses showed that serum insulin concentrations were greater in the CLA-mix group (34%) than the control group (P = 0.02) in the highest waist circumference tertile only ... In conclusion, a 50:50 mixture of c9,t11- and t10,c12-CLA isomers resulted in less total and lower-body FM in postmenopausal women and greater serum insulin concentrations in the highest waist circumference tertile" - See CLA products at iHerb.  As with all CLA studies, I wish they would state brand names instead of leaving it to the reader to figure out which mixture corresponds to which brand name.  I've seen studies where some isomers increase insulin sensitivity while others have the opposite effect.
  • Dietary Supplementation of L-Arginine and Conjugated Linoleic Acid Reduces Retroperitoneal Fat Mass and Increases Lean Body Mass in Rats - J Nutr. 2009 May 13 - "We conclude that CLA and arginine modulated adipose tissue metabolism by separate, but not additive, effects. Also, CLA and arginine may have depressed muscle protein turnover" - See CLA products at iHerb and Jarrow Formulas, Arginine 1000, 1000 mg, 100 Easy-Solv Tablets at iHerb.
  • Whole-Grain, Low-Calorie Diet Reduced Body Fat Compared With Refined-Wheat Low-Calorie Diet - Doctor's Guide, 5/14/09 - "Patients consuming whole-grain foods had a significantly larger drop in body fat percentage (assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scanning) compared with patients who had eaten refined foods (-6.8% vs -4.8%; P = .03) ... Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels rose by 5% in the refined-wheat group but remained unchanged in the wholemeal-wheat group"
  • Study In Pregnant Women Suggests Probiotics May Help Ward Off Obesity - Science Daily, 5/7/09 - "One year after giving birth, women were less likely to have the most dangerous kind of obesity if they had been given probiotics from the first trimester of pregnancy, found new research that suggests manipulating the balance of bacteria in the gut may help fight obesity ... Central obesity, where overall obesity is combined with a particularly fat belly, is considered especially unhealthy ... We found it in 25% of the women who had received the probiotics along with dietary counselling, compared with 43% in the women who received diet advice alone" - See probiotic products at iHerb.
  • Marine n-3 fatty acids promote size reduction of visceral adipose depots, without altering body weight and composition, in male Wistar rats fed a high-fat diet - Br J Nutr. 2009 Apr 28:1-12 - "Wistar rats fed a high-fat diet. Rats were fed diets including lard (19.5 % lard) or n-3 FA (9.1 % lard and 10.4 % Triomar) for 7 weeks. Feed consumption and weight gain were similar, whereas plasma lipid concentrations were lower in the n-3 FA group. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed smaller visceral (mesenteric, perirenal and epididymal) adipose depots in the n-3 FA-fed animals (35, 44 and 32 % reductions, respectively). n-3 FA feeding increased mRNA expression of cytokines as well as chemokines in several adipose depots. Expression of Adipoq and Pparg was enhanced in the mesenteric adipose depots of the n-3 FA-fed rats, and fasting plasma insulin levels were lowered. Expression of the lipogenic enzymes Acaca and Fasn was increased in the visceral adipose depots, whereas Dgat1 was reduced in the perirenal and epididymal depots. Cpt2 mRNA expression was almost doubled in the mesenteric depot and liver. Carcass analyses showed similar body fat (%) in the two feeding groups, indicating that n-3 FA feeding led to redistribution of fat away from the visceral compartment" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
  • Carotenoids may halve metabolic syndrome risk - Nutra USA, 4/23/09 - "Higher total carotenoid, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and lycopene intakes were associated with lower waist circumferences and visceral and subcutaneous fat mass ... Higher lycopene intake was related to lower serum triglyceride concentrations ... higher total carotenoid intakes, mainly those of beta-carotene and lycopene, were associated with a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome and with lower measures of adiposity and serum triglyceride concentrations in middle-aged and elderly men" - [Abstract] - See Nature's Way, Multi-Carotene Anti-oxidant at iHerb.
  • Dietary carotenoid intake is associated with lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged and elderly men - J Nutr. 2009 May;139(5):987-92 - "After adjustment for confounders, total carotenoid and lycopene intakes were inversely associated with presence of metabolic syndrome [relative risk (RR) quartile 4 vs. quartile 1 (95% CI) 0.42 (0.20-0.87), P-trend 0.02; and 0.55 (0.28-1.11), P-trend 0.01, respectively]. For beta-carotene, a decreased risk was observed for each quartile of intake compared with the first [RR quartile 4 vs. quartile 1 (95% CI) 0.58 (0.33-1.02)]. Higher total carotenoid, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and lycopene intakes were associated with lower waist circumferences and visceral and subcutaneous fat mass. Higher lycopene intake was related to lower serum triglyceride concentrations" - See Nature's Way, Multi-Carotene Anti-oxidant at iHerb.
  • Blueberries May Banish Belly Fat - WebMD, 4/19/08 - "enriched with whole blueberry powder or carbohydrates as 2% of their total diet ... After 90 days, the rats fed blueberries had less abdominal fat, lower cholesterol, and improved glucose control and insulin sensitivity. The latter two factors are markers of how well the body processes sugar for energy and are related to diabetes risk"
  • Low Glycemic Breakfast May Increase Benefits Of Working Out - Science Daily, 4/15/09 - "Overall, fat oxidation was higher in the LGI treatment than in the HGI treatment (P < 0.05) during the post-breakfast and exercise periods. Following lunch, fullness scores were higher in the LGI trial than in the HGI trial (P < 0.05). The authors concluded that consuming a LGI breakfast increases fat oxidation during subsequent exercise and improved satiety during recovery in sedentary females. As such, individuals trying to shed fat may consider choosing LGI foods eaten prior to when they exercise"
  • Late Bedtimes Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 3/30/09 - "The fewer hours a man slept each night, the higher his BMI, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels"
  • Not Enough Vitamin D In The Diet Could Mean Too Much Fat On Adolescents - Science Daily, 3/16/09 - "A Medical College of Georgia study of more than 650 teens age 14-19 has found that those who reported higher vitamin D intakes had lower overall body fat and lower amounts of the fat in the abdomen, a type of fat known as visceral fat, which has been associated with health risks such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
  • Arginine Discovery Could Help Fight Human Obesity - Science Daily, 2/4/09 - "arginine, an amino acid, reduces fat mass in diet-induced obese rats and could help fight human obesity ... dietary arginine supplementation shifts nutrient partitioning to promote skeletal-muscle gain ... arginine supplementation for a 12-week period decreased the body fat gains of low-fat and high-fat fed rats by 65 percent and 63 percent, respectively. The long-term arginine treatment did not have any adverse effects on either group" - See Jarrow Formulas, Arginine 1000, 1000 mg, 100 Easy-Solv Tablets at iHerb.
  • Green tea catechins linked to weight loss: Study - Nutra USA, 1/26/09 - "The subjects were randomly assigned to receive either 500ml per day of a beverage providing 625mg catechins, or a control beverage ... 12-week study period ... people in the catechin group were found to have lost more body weight compared to the control group ... both total abdominal fat area (P = 0.013) and abdominal subcutaneous fat area (P = 0.019) had decreased more in the catechin group" - [Abstract] - See Jarrow green tea extract at iHerb.
  • Green tea catechin consumption enhances exercise-induced abdominal fat loss in overweight and obese adults - J Nutr. 2009 Feb;139(2):264-70 - "for 12 wk ... There was a trend (P = 0.079) toward greater loss of body weight in the catechin group compared with the control group ... Percentage changes in fat mass did not differ between the catechin [5.2 (-7.0, -3.4)] and control groups [-3.5 (-5.4, 1.6)] (P = 0.208). However, percentage changes in total abdominal fat area [-7.7 (-11.7, -3.8) vs. -0.3 (-4.4, 3.9); P = 0.013], subcutaneous abdominal fat area [-6.2 (-10.2, -2.2) vs. 0.8 (-3.3, 4.9); P = 0.019], and fasting serum triglycerides (TG) [-11.2 (-18.8, -3.6) vs. 1.9 (-5.9, 9.7); P = 0.023] were greater in the catechin group. These findings suggest that green tea catechin consumption enhances exercise-induced changes in abdominal fat and serum TG" - See Jarrow green tea extract at iHerb.
  • Dietary L-Arginine Supplementation Reduces White Fat Gain and Enhances Skeletal Muscle and Brown Fat Masses in Diet-Induced Obese Rats - J Nutr. 2008 Dec 23 - "l-arginine-HCl ... Despite similar energy intake, absolute weights of white fat pads increased by 98% in control rats over a 12-wk period but only by 35% in arginine-supplemented rats. The arginine treatment reduced the relative weights of white fat pads by 30% and enhanced those of soleus muscle by 13%, extensor digitorum longus muscle by 11%, and brown fat by 34% compared with control rats ... arginine treatment resulted in lower serum concentrations of leptin, glucose, triglycerides, urea, glutamine, and branched-chain amino acids, higher serum concentrations of nitric-oxide metabolites, and improvement in glucose tolerance. Thus, dietary arginine supplementation shifts nutrient partitioning to promote muscle over fat gain and may provide a useful treatment for improving the metabolic profile and reducing body white fat in diet-induced obese rats" - See Jarrow Formulas, Arginine 1000, 1000 mg, 100 Easy-Solv Tablets at iHerb.
  • Green Tea Catechin Consumption Enhances Exercise-Induced Abdominal Fat Loss in Overweight and Obese Adults - J Nutr. 2008 Dec 11 - "percentage changes in total abdominal fat area [-7.7 (-11.7, -3.8) vs. -0.3 (-4.4, 3.9); P = 0.013], subcutaneous abdominal fat area [-6.2 (-10.2, -2.2) vs. 0.8 (-3.3, 4.9); P = 0.019], and fasting serum triglycerides (TG) [-11.2 (-18.8, -3.6) vs. 1.9 (-5.9, 9.7); P = 0.023] were greater in the catechin group. These findings suggest that green tea catechin consumption enhances exercise-induced changes in abdominal fat and serum TG" - See Jarrow green tea extract at iHerb.
  • Symptoms Of Depression Associated With Increase In Abdominal Fat - Science Daily, 12/1/08 - "There are several mechanisms by which depression might increase abdominal fat, they note. Chronic stress and depression may activate certain brain areas and lead to increased levels of the hormone cortisol, which promotes the accumulation of visceral fat. Individuals with depression may have unhealthier lifestyles, including a poor diet, that could interact with other physiological factors to produce an increase in abdominal obesity" - See my cortisol page for ways to reduce it.  Cortisol is like the chicken and the egg with depression.  They don't seem to know whether it is the cause or result.
  • Whole Grains Shrink Belly Fat? - Dr. Weil, 3/31/08 - "the whole grains may have helped by stabilizing the dieters' blood sugar, which in turn may have had a beneficial effect on CRP levels"
  • n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids in patients with the metabolic syndrome: a case-control study in Korea - Br J Nutr. 2008 Feb 28;:1-6 - "trans fatty acids of erythrocytes (RBC) ... There were significant positive relationships between trans fatty acids and waist circumference, and between trans fatty acids and BMI. The results suggested that RBC trans fatty acids might be a predictor of increased risk for the metabolic syndrome, but n-3 fatty acids were not in this population"
  • Whole Grains Fight Belly Fat - WebMD, 2/25/08 - "Both groups experienced a decrease in body fat, but the whole-grain group lost significantly more body fat from the abdominal region than the refined-grain group. Excessive fat around the midsection is linked to an increased risk of heart disease ... The whole-grain group experienced other benefits. For example, CRP levels dropped by 38% among those who followed a whole-grain diet"
  • Soy linked to less belly fat in postmenopausal women - Nutra USA, 1/14/08 - "At the end of the trial there were no differences in the weight of women in both groups ... However, measures of subcutaneous abdominal fat were significantly different between the groups, with women in the soy group experiencing a 14.7 sq. cm reduction compared to a 22.9 sq. cm increase in the placebo group" - [Abstract]
  • Effect of a daily supplement of soy protein on body composition and insulin secretion in postmenopausal women - Fertil Steril. 2007 Dec;88(6):1609-17 - "A daily supplement of soy protein prevents the increase in subcutaneous and total abdominal fat observed with an isocaloric casein placebo in postmenopausal women"
  • Vitamin C and dairy linked to less abdominal weight - Nutra USA, 11/16/07 - "low vitamin C intake was associated with a 131 per cent increase in probability of central fat accumulation, while low calcium increased the probability by 30 per cent" - [Abstract] - See Vitamin C products at iHerb.
  • Dietary and non-dietary determinants of central adiposity among Tehrani women - Public Health Nutr. 2007 Sep 3;:1-7 - "Marriage (1.31; 1.10-1.82), menopause (1.22; 1.02-1.61), low vitamin C intake (2.31; 1.25-4.25) and low calcium intake (1.30; 1.07-3.78) were associated with central fat accumulation" - See vitamin C products at iHerb.
  • Six months supplementation with conjugated linoleic acid induces regional-specific fat mass decreases in overweight and obese - Br J Nutr. 2007 Mar;97(3):550-60 - "randomised into two groups supplemented with either 3 x 4 g/d CLA or placebo for 6 months. CLA significantly decreased BFM at month 3 (Delta=- 0 x 9 %, P=0 x 016) and at month 6 (Delta=- 3 x 4 %, P=0 x 043) compared with placebo. The reduction in fat mass was located mostly in the legs (Delta=- 0 x 8 kg, P<0 x 001), and in women (Delta=-1 x 3 kg, P=0 x 046) with BMI >30 kg/m2 (Delta=-1 x 9 kg, P=0 x 011), compared with placebo. The waist-hip ratio decreased significantly (P=0 x 043) compared with placebo. LBM increased (Delta=+0 x 5 kg, P=0 x 049) within the CLA group ... Adverse events did not differ between the groups" - See CLA products at iHerb.
  • Low glycemic diet may help stay slim - MSNBC, 10/27/06 - "normal-weight women who ate a diet with a relatively high glycemic index gained more weight, more fat, and more padding around the middle over a six-year period than women who ate a low glycemic index diet"
  • Supplementation With Chromium Picolinate Improves Glycemic Control, Attenuates Weight Gain - Doctor's Guide, 8/9/06 - "Blood sugar levels of study participants taking chromium picolinate in combination with the antidiabetic medication dropped significantly compared to the group taking the medication plus placebo ... Study participants taking chromium picolinate also experienced significantly lower abdominal body fat accumulation than the group taking medication and placebo, and experienced less overall weight gain" - See iHerb or Vitacosticon chromium products.
  • Exercise Important in Reducing Size of Abdominal Fat Cells - Doctor's Guide, 8/8/06 - "The diet-alone group had no changes in abdominal fat cell size. However, both exercise groups had decreases of about 18% in the size of their abdominal fat cells"
  • Association of abdominal obesity with decreased serum levels of carotenoids in a healthy Japanese population - Clin Nutr. 2006 May 12 - "abdominal fat accumulation is associated with oxidative stress as determined by low levels of serum carotenoids in females"
  • Low-Glycemic Load Diet Facilitates Weight Loss in Overweight Adults with High Insulin Secretion - Doctor's Guide, 12/7/05 - "The regulation of body weight is, at least in part, influenced by how much insulin a person secretes in response to a load of glucose, as well as by how sensitive that person is to insulin's glucose-lowering effects"
  • Exercise Fights 'Hidden' Body Fat - WebMD, 9/14/05 - "Higher amounts of exercise cut deep belly fat and fat around the waist ... Deep belly fat (technically called "visceral fat" or fat surrounding organs within the abdomen) has been linked to health problems including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors that greatly increase the chance of developing these diseases"
  • Running May Melt Away Belly Fat - CBS 2 Chicago, 9/14/05
  • Vinegar may help dieters eat less - Nutra USA, 9/7/05 - "Both glucose and insulin responses were about 25 per cent lower at 90 minutes when the volunteers had consumed the highest level of vinegar compared to the reference meal ... This level of vinegar is equivalent to about two to three tablespoons" - See Vinegar products at iHerb (1 - 500 mg tablet equals 2 tsb of vinegar.  4.5 tablets equals about 3 tablespoons by my calculations.  Related articles:
  • New Trial Shows Chromium Picolinate Reduces Weight Gain Associated with Diabetes Medication - Doctor's Guide, 6/16/05 - "The study participants who took 1,000 mcg of Chromax(R) chromium picolinate in combination with the antidiabetic medication experienced significantly lower body fat accumulation (0.12%) than the group taking medication and placebo (1.1%), particularly in the abdomen area" - See iHerb or Vitacosticon chromium products.
  • Skipping Exercise Makes Fat a Bigger Problem - WebMD, 4/19/05 - "Just five hours after exercise stopped, the rat's abdominal fat cells started to send off chemical signals that made them start to swell. After two days of no exercise, the fat cells got 19% larger -- and the rats' stomach fat got 48% heavier"
  • Effects of metformin on the body composition in subjects with risk factors for type 2 diabetes - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2005 Mar;7(2):189-92 - "In the metformin group, there was a decrease in fat weight from 25.9 +/- 9.4 to 20.8 +/- 9.2 kg, p < 0.01, an increase in lean weight from 57.05 +/- 13.6 to 61.9 +/- 16.5 kg, p < 0.01, an increase in basal metabolism from 1735 +/- 413 to 1878 +/- 505 calories/day, p < 0.05 and an increase in body water" - See metformin at IAS.  Note:  That's a 19.7% decrease in fat (25.9-20.8)/25.9 = 19.7%, a 8.5% increase in lean weight (61.9-57.05)/57.05 = 8.5% and a 8.2% increase in basal metabolism (1878-1735)/1735 = 8.2%. - Ben
  • Abdominal Fat Decreases, Insulin Action Improves When Elderly Take Hormone - Science Daily, 11/17/04
  • Effect of DHEA on Abdominal Fat and Insulin Action in Elderly Women and Men: A Randomized Controlled Trial - JAMA. 2004 Nov 10;292(18):2243-8 - "DHEA replacement could play a role in prevention and treatment of the metabolic syndrome associated with abdominal obesity" - See DHEA products at iHerb.
  • Hormone Protects Against Diseases of Aging - WebMD, 11/9/04 - "The elderly people in the study took 50 mg a day of DHEA ... Six months later, the DHEA group showed significant reductions in abdominal obesity (10% fat reduction around organs in the abdominal cavity among women and 7.4% among men) and improvements in insulin action or a decrease in insulin resistance"
  • Increase in DHEA May Help Decrease Abdominal Fat in Elderly Persons - Doctor's Guide, 11/9/04 - "DHEA replacement therapy induced significant decreases in both visceral fat (within the abdomen) and subcutaneous abdominal fat (below the skin surface) in elderly men and women. "The decrease in visceral fat relative to initial values averaged 10.2 percent in the women and 7.4 percent in the men. The DHEA therapy also resulted in a significant decrease in abdominal subcutaneous fat, averaging approximately 6 percent in both the men and women"
  • DHEA May Reduce Abdominal Fat and Increase Insulin Sensitivity in the Elderly - Medscape, 11/9/04
  • Research: Refined Grains Expand Girths - Intelihealth, 6/21/04 - "three years they were tracked ... At the end, the white bread group had three times the fiber group's gain at the gut ... I think abdominal fat cells may be more sensitive to insulin's effects than other fat cells in the body"
  • CLA: The New Miracle Weight Loss Pill? - WebMD, 5/24/04 - "Both CLA groups lost weight -- about 4 pounds; the placebo group stayed the same ... The CLA syrup group had a 9% body fat loss; the CLA pill group had 7% loss; the placebo group had no body fat loss ... The increased lipoprotein levels may be a byproduct of fat loss, says Gaullier. "The body does show inflammation caused by the process of eliminating fat. We think this is what is happening, but we don't know for certain."" - See iHerb or Vitacosticon CLA products.
  • A Derivative Of The Green Tea Leaf May Help With Metabolic Syndrome X, A Potentially Deadly Disorder - Intelihealth, 4/10/03 - "A new weapon might eventually be added to the arsenal: consumption of Tegreen, a tea polyphenols product containing in excess of 65 percent tea catechins, derived from the green tea leaf ... oral administration of Tegreen is capable of improving glucose and lipid metabolisms in an obese rat model induced by a high-calorie diet ... Tegreen intervention can significantly decrease visceral fat depot and increase the insulin's sensitivity, presumably touching one of the pathological root causes of this potentially deadly syndrome" - See iHerb or Vitacosticon green tea extracts.  My favorite is Jarrow green tea at iHerb.
  • Stress, Cortisol and Health - Supplement Watch Newsletter, 10/02 - "several lines of evidence have converged to solidify the concept that stress makes us fat (because of cortisol), thins our bones (because of cortisol), shrinks our brains (because of cortisol), suppresses our immune system (because of cortisol), saps our energy levels (because of cortisol), and kills our sex drive (because of cortisol) ... Take a daily multivitamin/multi-mineral supplement - because calcium, magnesium, vitamin C and B-complex vitamins are needed for a proper stress response ... Chief among the supplements with documented cortisol-controlling effects are Phosphatidylserine, Beta-sitosterol, Magnolia bark, Theanine, Epimedium, Ashwagandha and Passionflower"
  • Novel Method of Enhancing Anti-Fat Effects of CLA - Life Extension Magazine, 8/02 - "CLA improves insulin sensitivity" - See iHerb or Vitacosticon CLA products.
  • Hypercortisolemia Cited in Link Between Depression and Cardiovascular Disorders - Doctor's Guide, 4/9/02 - "Depressed patients who are also hypercortisolemic appear to have resistance to insulin and increased visceral fat, possibly accounting for a link between major depression and cardiovascular disorders"
  • Single enzyme to blame for potbellies: study - MSNBC, 12/6/01 - "What they found was that a single enzyme in fat cells that raises levels of cortisol — the “fight or flight” stress hormone — triggers fat accumulation around the belly and its associated ill effects ... The researchers were drawn to the role of cortisol because patients with a rare illness known as Cushing syndrome — who have too much of the steroid hormone in their blood — develop severe obesity concentrated around their middles and become diabetic ... Since overweight people without Cushing syndrome typically don’t have too much cortisol in their bloodstreams, Flier hypothesized that they may be producing high cortisol levels solely in their fat cells — possibly because the enzyme HSD-1, which makes cortisol from an inactive molecule, is overactive ... The level of cortisol in their stomach fat tissue was 15 percent to 30 percent higher than in their non-engineered counterparts" - The link went dead on this but I found a copy at http://www.cushingsonline.com/newsletters/email/12-4-2002.htm (scroll about 2/3rds the way down).

Other News:

  • Waistlines in people, glucose levels in mice hint at sweeteners' effects: Related studies point to the illusion of the artificial - Science Daily, 6/27/11 - "In the constant battle to lose inches or at least stay the same, we reach for the diet soda. Two studies presented June 25 and 27 at the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions in San Diego suggest this might be self-defeating behavior ... diet soft drink consumption is associated with increased waist circumference in humans, and a second study that found aspartame raised fasting glucose (blood sugar) in diabetes-prone mice ... The average follow-up time was 9.5 years ... Diet soft drink users, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with non-users. Frequent users, who said they consumed two or more diet sodas a day, experienced waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than those of non-users ... In the related project ... One group of the mice ate chow to which both aspartame and corn oil were added; the other group ate chow with the corn oil added but not the aspartame. After three months on this high-fat diet, the mice in the aspartame group showed elevated fasting glucose levels but equal or diminished insulin levels, consistent with early declines in pancreatic beta-cell function"
  • Belly fat puts women at risk for osteoporosis, study finds - Science Daily, 11/30/10
  • Waist Circumference but Not Body Mass Index Predicts Long-Term Mortality in Elderly Subjects with Chronic Heart Failure - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2010 Jul 28 - "Mortality increased as WC increased in elderly subjects without CHF (from 47.8% to 56.7%, P=.01), and the increase was even greater in patients with CHF (from 58.1% to 82.0%, P=.01). In contrast, mortality decreased as BMI increased in elderly subjects without CHF (from 53.8% to 46.1%, P0 =.046) but not in those with CHF. According to Cox regression analysis, BMI protected against long-term mortality in the absence but not in the presence of CHF. In the absence of CHF, WC was associated with a 2% increased risk of long-term mortality for each 1-cm greater WC (Hazard Ratio (HR)=1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01-1.03; P<.001), versus 5% increased in the presence of CHF (HR=1.06, 95% CI=1.02-1.10; P<.001)"
  • Link between depression, abdominal obesity confirmed by new study - Science Daily, 6/9/10 - "cortisol, a stress hormone, is related to depression and abdominal obesity. "So, there is reason to suspect that people who are depressed would have higher levels of abdominal obesity versus other parts of the body because of elevated cortisol,""
  • Abdominal fat at middle age associated with greater risk of dementia: Obesity linked to lower total brain volume - Science Daily, 5/20/10 - "excess abdominal fat places otherwise healthy, middle-aged people at risk for dementia later in life ... 24.3 million people have some form of dementia, with 4.6 million new cases annually"
  • Fat redistribution preferentially reflects the anti-inflammatory benefits of pioglitazone treatment - Metabolism. 2010 Jan 19 - "high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) ... Pioglitazone treatment for 12 weeks decreased serum hsCRP levels (0.83 [1.14] to 0.52 [0.82] mg/L, P < .001) and improved glycemic control (fasting glucose, P < .001; glycosylated hemoglobin, P < .001) and lipid profiles (triglyceride, P = .016; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, P < .001). Between responders and nonresponders to the hsCRP-lowering effect of pioglitazone, there were significant differences in baseline hsCRP levels and changes in the postprandial glucose and the ratio of visceral fat thickness (VFT) to subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) (P = .004, .011, and .001, respectively). The percentage change in hsCRP levels after treatment was inversely correlated with baseline hsCRP levels (r = -0.497, P < .001) and directly correlated with the change in postprandial glucose (r = 0.251, P = .021), VFT (r = 0.246, P = .030), and VFT/SFT ratio (r = 0.276, P = .015). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the hsCRP-lowering effect of pioglitazone was affected by baseline hsCRP levels (odds ratio [OR] = 7.929, P = .007) as well as changes in postprandial 2-hour glucose (OR = 0.716, P = .025) and VFT/SFT ratio (OR = 0.055, P = .009). In conclusion, treatment with pioglitazone produced an anti-inflammatory effect, decreasing serum hsCRP levels; and a decrease in the VFT/SFT ratio was independently and most strongly associated with the hsCRP-decreasing effect. These results suggest that abdominal fat redistribution preferentially reflects the anti-inflammatory benefits of pioglitazone treatment"
  • Fat around the middle increases the risk of dementia - Science Daily, 11/23/09 - "Anyone carrying a lot of fat around the middle is at greater risk of dying prematurely due to a heart attack or stroke ... If they nevertheless manage to live beyond 70, they run a greater risk of dementia ... women who were broader around the waist than the hips in middle age ran slightly more than twice the risk of developing dementia when they got old"
  • That's a Binge Belly, Not a Beer Belly - WebMD, 9/4/09
  • Fat In The Liver -- Not The Belly -- May Be A Better Marker For Disease Risk - Science Daily, 8/25/09 - "Having too much liver fat is known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease ... when fat collects in the liver, people experience serious metabolic problems such as insulin resistance, which affects the body's ability to metabolize sugar. They also have increases in production of fat particles in the liver that are secreted into the bloodstream and increase the level of triglycerides"
  • Increase In Visceral Fat During Menopause Linked With Testosterone - Science Daily, 8/20/09 - "The culprit is likely not age, as is commonly believed, but the change in hormone balance that occurs during the menopause transition ... Of all the factors we analyzed that could possibly account for the increase in visceral fat during this period in a woman's lifetime, levels of active testosterone proved to be the one most closely linked with abdominal fat ... in women, it is the change in the hormonal balance – specifically, the increase in active testosterone – that is predominantly responsible for visceral fat, and for the increased risk of cardiovascular disease"
  • Stress Raises Belly Fat, Heart Risks - WebMD, 8/6/09 - "Even compared to other monkeys with the same body mass index and weight, CT scans showed that the stressed monkeys had a great deal more belly fat. And when the researchers looked at the animals' arteries, they found plaque clogging the arteries of the stressed monkeys ... it's not how much fat you have, but where it is located ... Over time, high cortisol levels cause belly fat to accumulate. It also makes individual fat cells get larger ... When you have lots more fat in visceral fat cells and all the characteristics of the metabolic syndrome, each of these things promotes atherosclerosis"
  • Beer consumption and the 'beer belly': scientific basis or common belief? - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jun 24 - "Beer consumption leads to WC gain, which is closely related to concurrent overall weight gain. This study does not support the common belief of a site-specific effect of beer on the abdomen, the beer belly"
  • Testosterone Therapy Improves Metabolic Syndrome, Liver Steatosis in Hypogonadal Men - Doctor's Guide, 6/22/09 - "After receiving TU for 6 months, their body mass index, waist circumference, and low-density and high-density lipoprotein were improved ... Similarly, their serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels decreased towards the end of the first year of treatment, and then remained stable for the duration of the study ... The mean tryglyceride levels after treatment with TU were 195 mg/dL, down from 312 mg/dL before treatment ... LDL levels decreased after treatment as well, from 164 to 134 mg/dL, whereas HDL levels increased from 36.5 to 54.6 mg/dL"
  • Hormone Therapy Plus Physical Activity Reduce Belly Fat, Body Fat Percentage After Menopause - Science Daily, 6/10/09 - "Older women who take hormone therapy to relieve menopausal symptoms may get the added benefit of reduced body fat if they are physically active"
  • Depression Raises Risk for Type 2 Diabetes - WebMD, 6/8/09 - "Depressed participants who were not being treated had significantly greater insulin resistance than study participants who were not depressed. But treatment for depression appeared to improve insulin sensitivity ... There are several theories about how depression may contribute to type 2 diabetes, but the most widely cited theory involves the stress hormone cortisol ... Cortisol is a key player in blood sugar metabolism and insulin sensitivity ... High cortisol levels are also associated with increased fat deposits around the abdomen, or belly fat, which is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes"
  • Depression Linked With Accumulation Of Visceral Fat - Science Daily, 4/28/09 - "Our results suggest that central adiposity – which is commonly called belly fat – is an important pathway by which depression contributes to the risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes"
  • Fresh Take on Fructose vs. Glucose - WebMD, 4/21/09 - "Both the groups gained weight during the trial, but imaging studies revealed that most of the added fat in the fructose group occurred in the belly, while most of the fat gained by the glucose group was subcutaneous (under the skin) ... Belly fat, but not subcutaneous fat, has been linked to an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes ... The fructose group had higher total cholesterol and LDL "bad" cholesterol, plus greater insulin resistance, which are consistent with metabolic syndrome, while the glucose group did not"
  • Big Waist Size Linked To Decreased Lung Function - Science Daily, 3/6/09
  • Abdominal Fat Increases Risk of Migraine Attack, Especially in Women - Doctor's Guide, 2/16/09
  • Belly Fat Linked to Risk of Migraines - WebMD, 2/13/09
  • Bad Cholesterol Inhibits The Breakdown Of Peripheral Fat - Science Daily, 11/20/08 - "LDL cholesterol slows the rate of fat breakdown (i.e. lipolysis) in adipocytes, the peripheral cells responsible for fat storage"
  • Belly Fat Doubles Death Risk - WebMD, 11/12/08 - "Belly fat has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Now an important new study links belly fat to early death ... Each 2-inch increase in waist circumference was associated with close to a 17% increase in mortality in men and a 13% increase in women"
  • Cortisol And Fatty Liver: Researchers Find Cause Of Severe Metabolic Disorders - Science Daily, 9/11/08 - "The researchers in Herzig's team specifically switched off the cortisol receptor in the livers of mice, thus blocking the hormone's effect. As a result, the triglyceride level in the livers of the experimental animals dropped considerably"
  • Belly Fat Linked to Stroke Risk - WebMD, 8/14/08 - "The BMI, however, was not independently associated with an increased risk of stroke ... The risk association for waist measurements was far more powerful. People with bigger waist circumferences (greater than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women) had four times the stroke risk when compared with people with typical waistlines"
  • Metformin (Glucophage) and bipolar - psycheducation.org - "In some cases this medication can decrease abdominal obesity ... Between 10 and 30% of people taking metformin have a decrease in their B12 levels ... this can show up is "anemia""
  • Belly Fat May Affect Liver Function - Science Daily, 6/10/08 - "It has been shown that people who store body fat in their abdomens are at greater risk to develop diabetes and other chronic illnesses, but why this happens has remained unclear ... Our study found lipid release from abdominal fat was substantially elevated during the night, which may be a primary mechanism leading to insulin resistance, a strong risk factor for type 2 diabetes"
  • Role of Metformin for Weight Management in Patients Without Type 2 Diabetes (June) - Ann Pharmacother. 2008 May 13 - "The weight loss effects of metformin in overweight or obese adults and adolescents without diabetes appear promising; however, trials have been limited by small patient populations and weak design. Metformin may also have a positive effect on metabolic parameters such as waist circumference, fasting insulin and glucose levels, and triglycerides" - See metformin at at OffshoreRx.com.
  • ACE Inhibitors May Help in Weight Loss - WebMD, 4/28/08 - "the ACE-deficient mice not only broke down fats faster in the liver, they processed blood sugars more quickly than the other mice, making them less likely to develop diabetes ... The study results demonstrate that an ACE deficiency leads to reduction in body fat accumulation in mice and suggests that drugs that affect the renin-angiotensin system, such as ACE inhibitors, might spark weight loss, especially in the midsection" - See ramipril (an ACE inhibitor) at OffshoreRX.
  • Your Belly Fat Could Be Making You Hungrier - Science Daily, 4/16/08
  • Big Bellies Linked to Alzheimer's Disease - washingtonpost.com, 3/26/08 - "People who have big bellies in their 40s are much more likely to get Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in their 70s" - [Science Daily]
  • Why Belly Fat Hurts the Heart - WebMD, 1/29/08 - "Visceral fat brought the most inflammation and the worst atherosclerosis ... After visceral fat transplantation, mice developed less severe atherosclerosis if their chow was laced with the diabetes drug Actos for 10 weeks. But Actos didn't affect atherosclerosis in other mice" - See pioglitazone at OffshoreRX.com.
  • Pot Belly May Signal Diseased Arteries - WebMD, 8/14/07
  • New Test for Belly Fat? - WebMD, 7/10/07
  • Belly Fat May Drive Inflammatory Processes Associated With Disease - Science Daily, 3/13/07 - "fat cells inside the abdomen are secreting molecules that increase inflammation ... Too much abdominal fat is associated with a defect in the body's response to insulin"
  • Trans Fat Leads To Weight Gain Even On Same Total Calories, Animal Study Shows - Science Daily, 6/19/06 - "Diets rich in trans fat cause a redistribution of fat tissue into the abdomen and lead to a higher body weight even when the total dietary calories are controlled"
  • Eat Trans Fat, Get Big Belly - WebMD, 6/12/06 - "Trans fats make you fatter than other foods with the same number of calories -- but that's not all ...  trans fats increase the amount of fat around the belly"
  • Abdominal Fat Linked To Higher Death Rate In Men, New Study Shows - Science Daily, 4/4/06 - "visceral fat in the abdomen is directly associated with a higher risk of mortality in men"
  • Study: Lifting weights attacks belly fat - USA Today, 3/3/06 - "Women who did the weight-training for two years had only a 7% increase in intra-abdominal fat, compared to a 21% increase in the group given exercise advice"
  • Study links tobacco smoke with belly fat - USATODAY.com, 8/1/05
  • Testosterone Replacement a Double-Edged Sword: Impact of supplementation is largely positive, but adverse effects found among men on highest doses - Clinical Psychiatry News, 8/05 - "Abdominal visceral fat, however, increased by 16.6% in the placebo group, and decreased by 6.8% in men taking testosterone—a significant difference between groups"
  • Research May Provide New Link Between Soft Drinks And Weight Gain - Science Daily, 8/2/05 - "Those consuming the fructose-sweetened water showed significant weight gain over the course of the study, with an average final weight of 48 grams—compared with averages below 44 grams for the other groups—and had about 90 percent more body fat than the mice that consumed water only"
  • Waist circumference as a predictor of insulin resistance in young men - Med Clin (Barc). 2005 Jun 11;125(2):46-50 - "WC of these young men was independently associated with certain cardiovascular risk factors, in particular insulin resistance"
  • Hidden Fat Could Mean Heart Disease Risk - WebMD, 4/11/05 - "Even people of normal weight can have fat folded deep inside their belly, raising their risk of heart disease and diabetes from a condition called metabolic syndrome"
  • Inflammation Key to Belly Fat 's Unhealthy Effects - HealthDay, 3/31/05 - "Inflammation may be the reason why that "spare tire" around the waist raises a person's risk of heart disease ... They checked each woman's abdominal fat for two proteins that promote inflammation -- interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha -- and for a third protein that encourages blood clots, called plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 ... These three proteins are all manufactured by fat tissue"
  • Exercise a Must for Losing Deep Belly Fat - WebMD, 3/4/05 - "Even if she diets perfectly, eating all the right foods in ideal amounts, her waistline may not budge unless she works out. Exercise is required to lose excess fat deep in the abdomen, says a new study"
  • Location Of Body Fat Important In Predicting Heart Attack Risk - Science Daily, 11/5/04 - "intra-abdominal fat, or fat stored in and around the internal organs, is most predictive of heart attack risk"
  • Insulin Sensitivity, Insulin Secretion, and Abdominal Fat - Medscape, 10/23/03 - "Insulin resistance is associated with overall obesity and particularly abdominal obesity ... In normal individuals, as insulin sensitivity declines, the ß-cells of the pancreas compensate by secreting more insulin"
  • Obese Individuals Experience Modest Weight Loss with Growth-Hormone Therapy - Doctor's Guide, 6/24/03 - "Most of the fat loss was in the abdominal area"
  • The Dairy Calcium in Yogurt Helps People Lose Belly - WebMD, 4/15/03 - "put 34 obese people on a low-cal diet. Sixteen of them got pills with 400 to 500 mg of calcium per day. The other 18 people ate enough yogurt to give them 1100 mg of calcium per day ... After 12 weeks, everybody lost a lot of fat ... Sixty percent of the yogurt eaters' weight loss was belly fat, while only 26% of the comparison group's loss was belly fat"
  • High-Fat Diet Ups Dangerous 'Hidden' Fat - WebMD, 3/31/03
  • Exercise Training, Without Weight Loss, Increases Insulin Sensitivity and Postheparin Plasma Lipase Activity in Previously Sedentary Adults - Medscape, 3/19/03 - "Exercise, without weight loss, increases SI [insulin sensitivity] and PHPL activity in previously sedentary adults, without changing K2 or fasting lipid levels. Furthermore, increased LPL is associated with a decreased total:HDL ratio, and an increased LPL:HL ratio is associated with a decreased waist circumference. Therefore, even modest amounts of exercise in the absence of weight loss positively affect markers of glucose and fat metabolism in previously sedentary, middle-aged adults" - I threw this out because I didn't know that "decreased total:HDL ratio ... is associated with a decreased waist circumference" - This might be a long shot but that sounds like increasing insulin sensitivity via such methods as metformin and increasing HDL via supplements such as niacin might decrease pot bellies. - Ben
  • Belly full of danger - USA Today, 2/25/03 - "people with wide girths are more likely to have large amounts of deep-hidden belly fat around their organs. It might be the most dangerous kind of fat and could increase a person's risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer ... visceral or intra-abdominal fat, is linked to high cholesterol, high insulin, high triglycerides, high blood pressure and other problems ... So far, physical activity and weight loss appear to be the key ... It's very likely that genes, sex hormones and stress hormones (cortisol) play a role"
  • How to whittle your middle - MSNBC, 2/18/03
  • Big gut, other factors can kill you - USA Today, 12/3/02 - "People with this syndrome have at least three of the following risk factors: high blood sugar; a waist circumference of greater than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women; lower-than-average HDL cholesterol (the so-called good cholesterol); high triglycerides and high blood pressure ... men who had the syndrome at the study's start had a two to three times greater chance of dying of a heart attack or a stroke during the study than men who did not have this collection of risk factors ... People getting a checkup should ask their family doctor to look for metabolic syndrome"
  • Errant Enzyme Causes Big Bellies - WebMD, 12/11/01 - "They looked at an enzyme called 11-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1. This enzyme is able to increase the level of cortisol in fat cells without raising the level of cortisol in the blood ... The researchers genetically engineered mice that overproduce this enzyme. They made sure that the level of the enzyme was equivalent to the level previously found in the fatty tissue of overweight humans. As expected, the mice produced extra amounts of cortisol in their fat cells, but not in their blood ... The next step was to compare these mice to mice that produced normal amounts of the enzyme. Even when fed a low-fat diet, the genetically-altered mice developed a pot belly while the normal mice did not. The problem was even worse when the altered mice were fed a high-fat diet ... We were surprised to find that it took only a modest increase in this enzyme to cause the mice to become ... obese"
  • Single enzyme to blame for potbellies: study - MSNBC, 12/6/01 - "What they found was that a single enzyme in fat cells that raises levels of cortisol — the “fight or flight” stress hormone — triggers fat accumulation around the belly and its associated ill effects ... The researchers were drawn to the role of cortisol because patients with a rare illness known as Cushing syndrome — who have too much of the steroid hormone in their blood — develop severe obesity concentrated around their middles and become diabetic ... Since overweight people without Cushing syndrome typically don’t have too much cortisol in their bloodstreams, Flier hypothesized that they may be producing high cortisol levels solely in their fat cells — possibly because the enzyme HSD-1, which makes cortisol from an inactive molecule, is overactive ... The level of cortisol in their stomach fat tissue was 15 percent to 30 percent higher than in their non-engineered counterparts" - Note: The way I read this article, the final culprit is still the cortisol and there are ways to reduce cortisol now.   The link went dead on this but I found a copy at http://www.cushingsonline.com/newsletters/email/12-4-2002.htm (scroll about 2/3rds the way down).
  • Stress May Cause Excess Abdominal Fat In Otherwise Slender Women - Doctor's Guide, 11/15/00
  • Avandia Positively Impacts On Factors Linked With Insulin Resistance - Doctor's Guide, 9/18/00 - "Increased deposits of fat around the internal organs and in the liver are commonly associated with insulin resistance and are found in many type 2 diabetes patients ... Avandia helps prevent accumulation of fat around the internal organs and significantly reduces hepatic fat"

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