Lose Belly Fat - Support Normal Blood Vessel Health

Just a few days ago, I mentioned the fact that excess belly fat is dangerous to our health.  These research studies have reported that excess belly fat (also called abdominal obesity) has been linked to poor heart health, poor blood sugar health, and overall mortality.  Previous studies have implied that belly fat gain might be linked to poor heart health by inducing changes in blood vessel health and the ability of blood vessels to stretch normally.  However, this potential link between belly fat and blood vessel health was unclear.

In an attempt to start better understanding the potential interaction between belly fat and normal blood vessel health, heart health researchers examined changes in blood vessel health during a short-term belly fat study (free to download).  For this study, the investigators recruited 43 healthy volunteers with a normal body weight and assigned them to either (1) maintain their weight for 16 weeks or to (2) gain weight for 8 weeks and then lose weight during a second 8-week period.  Changes in the ability of arm blood vessels to stretch and relax were measured at the beginning of the study, after weight gain and at the end of the study.  The heart health researchers reported that:

• Volunteers assigned to gain weight gained about 9 lbs on average over 8 weeks with over 80% of the weight gained as fat.
• In study volunteers that were asked to maintain their body weight, blood vessel health remained normal and unchanged.
• Volunteers who gained weight and belly fat developed poorer blood vessel health with substantial loss of blood vessel stretchability.
• Weight loss after the short-term weight gain resulted in a return to normal blood vessel health.

This is a fascinating study indicating the importance of maintaining a normal body weight or losing excess belly fat  for the support of normal blood vessel health.  According to these current study results, even a modest belly fat gain like seen during vacations or around the holidays can negatively impact blood vessel health.  Fortunately, losing this excess belly fat helped support normal blood vessel health.  While this study shows the possible impact of belly fat on normal blood vessel health, it also raises some interesting questions that will likely be the focus of future research studies.  For example, what happens to normal blood vessel health during long-term (over several years) weight gain, which is typical in many of us?  Also, can losing weight after years of carrying around excess belly fat still help with the support of normal blood vessel health and if so, to what extent?  And, how does weight cycling effect normal blood vessel health.  I look forward to seeing the answers to these types of questions in the future.

My easy diet plan and physical activity plan, using my delicious, hunger-satisfying milk protein or soy protein bars and shakes, may help dieters to lose weight and reduce belly fat.  Tune in to watch me on QVC September 12th from 1 AM - 2 AM EST!