What's a beer belly, anyway?

Having a big belly is associated with a greater risk of heart disease and death, but to understand the belly of beer (which you can not really blame for beer), you have to look inward.

A little fat lives just under the skin

Subcutaneous fat (which literally means "under the skin") is found throughout your body. Your ear lobes are made of fat. It's the fat that you can touch and crush. It may be annoying, but it is not the harmful belly fat for which you have been warned.

Your body puts the subcutaneous fat in the place indicated by your genetics and hormones. Women tend to put more on the buttocks and thighs, men more on the belly, but many people have a mixture of both, or a model that does not correspond to any extreme. All of this is possible with a healthy, normal body, but you may notice more of your subcutaneous abdominal fat if you also have visceral fat.

The fat surrounding your organs is the type to be feared

If you've heard that "belly fat" is bad, stop thinking about love handles and start thinking about what's in your abdomen. The fat most strongly associated with health risks is the visceral fat that surrounds your organs. This fat is in the interiorbehind a wall of muscle. If you prick your belly, you will feel soft subcutaneous fat, then you will feel that wall of muscle. Visceral fat is gone.

It is this fat that increases your risk (or perhaps a sign that you are already at risk) of heart disease, insulin resistance and chronic inflammatory diseases. This is why waist circumference is a useful indicator of your health risks. It's not perfect, but tells this story better than BMI or total weight.

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There are other ways to get a swollen belly

A beer belly can come from other causes and I'm not talking just about pregnancy. Certain health conditions make your liver or other organs fat. One in particular is related to the consumption of alcohol.

Excessive consumption of alcohol throughout life can cause liver damage called cirrhosis. In extreme cases, this can lead to ascites, fluid accumulation in the abdomen. If you have ascites, your doctor may be able to drain the fluid, but it is a serious condition that often indicates that you need a liver transplant.

Apart from this, beer has no particular connection with a beer belly. If you consume a lot of alcohol, you may consume a lot of calories, which can give you more fat of both types; you may also have other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. But you can not blame your beer belly.