The truth about beer and your tummy
A bulging layer of bacon at the height of the stomach is called a beer belly. However, it has not been scientifically proven that beer gives you a big belly. How do you get it and how do you lose your belly again?
You don’t just get a beer belly from beer. The alcohol and sugar beer makes your belly grow, but calories from other drinks and foods do just as well. If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. There are about 110 . in a glass of beer kcal. But often it doesn’t stop at one and don’t forget the snacks that you wash down with a beer. Beer stimulates the appetite and you would rather drink it with peanuts, a pizza or a portion of bitterballen than with a healthy meal.
Depending on age, sex, hormones and hereditary factors, fat can be stored in different places. For example, women often get a pear shape. They mainly affect the upper arms, thighs, hips and also the abdomen. In men, the fat settles more often only on the abdomen, giving them an apple shape. Because of this difference in fat storage, you see a beer belly more often in men than in women.
Dangerous Fat
A few extra pounds on the thighs or hips are less unhealthy than belly fat. There are two types of fat. Subcutaneous fat is just under the skin and forms a layer that you can grasp. Visceral fat settles around the organs in the abdominal cavity. Visceral fat in particular is likely to cause all kinds of health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome.
The circumference of your waist reflects how much of this dangerous, visceral fat you have. The waist circumference is measured at the narrowest part of your abdomen, between the lower rib and the top of the hip bone. In the diagram below you can see if you are in the danger zone. Another method to determine if your weight is correct is the Body Mass Index.
| Waist circumference in cm | Advice | |
| man | Woman | |
| less than 94 | less than 80 | No increased risk. |
| 94-102 | 80-88 | Danger zone comes into view, keep your weight. |
| more than 102 | more than 88 | Increased risk, try to lose weight. |
Grow washboard
Would you like to exchange your beer belly for a washboard? Unfortunately, no miracle cure has been invented yet. The only thing that helps is changing your eating habits and exercising more. For example, drink fewer beers in the evening or limit your drinking to the weekend. Eat a healthy meal before going to the pub, so that you are less tempted to order a portion of cheese and bitterballen.
Doing many abdominal exercises does not immediately give you a washboard. As long as there is a layer of fat on your stomach, your abs will not be visible. And fat does not disappear through the abdominal exercises. Of cardio workout you can burn a lot of calories, so that the fat on the abdomen slowly disappears. Want to burn three beers? Then you have to go to the gym, play football, jog or swim for about 45 minutes. For visible abs your fat percentage must be very low, for some people these values are not feasible.
