Visceral Fats? What's that?

Illustration 1. Visceral Fats surrounding the organs

Have you heard of visceral fats before? They are the internal fatty tissue which surrounds the vital organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas. Visceral fats accumulate actively in an inactive body and they will increase your risk of getting health problems which might prove fatal.

Other than accumulating around the vital organs in our tummy, visceral fats can also inhibit the functioning of vital organs. This toxic fat is known to release dangerous levels of chemicals (including hormones) into the body. As such, excess toxic fat can lead to health problems namely: heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers (including cancers of the oesophagus, pancreas, bowel and breast). 

Illustration 2. Statistics of obese people in Singapore

The rate of overweight and obese people in Singapore (and possibly all over the world) are increasing as years go by. This is due to the availability of food, typically fast food and junk food, in almost every corner of the street. 

There are methods to reduce and limit the accumulation of visceral fats in your tummy for example, exercising well and having proper meals and nutrition. If you are looking into weight loss programmes, ensure that you do a research beforehand on what you will actually lose throughout the programme. 

Next article: What are we losing when we lose weight?