Belly Fat May Affect Your Liver

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Look down… is your belly fat or flat? If all you see is a rounded ball where your abs ought to be you might want to consider doing something about it. A new study has found that abdominal fat, which is called WAT or while adipose tissue, is something worth shedding. Among its many other disagreeable effects on the body these researchers have found:

“A study by the University of Southern California (USC) suggests the release of lipids from abdominal fat, which drains directly to the liver, increases overnight, providing additional insight as to how abdominal fat is associated with type 2 diabetes risk. The results of the study were presented at an oral session Monday, June 9 at the American Diabetes Association 68th Scientific Sessions held in San Francisco.

“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,” says Lisa Nicole Harrison, B.S., Master’s candidate, at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and lead author on the study. “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.”

The observed lipids drain directly to the liver, a key center of glucose and insulin metabolism, where they may accumulate as triglyceride and cause dysregulation of these important metabolic processes, Harrison says. The results highlight the importance of abdominal obesity in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.”

University of Southern California (Physorg.com)

What can you do about it? The book “A Rainbow on My Plate” might have some of the answers.