Problem zone: the waist

Belly fat is a major risk to your health, even if you are a normal weight. This is apparent from a recent survey of 350,000 Europeans. Slim women and men between the ages of 50 and 60 with a belly are more likely to die prematurely than people without. As the size of the abdomen increases, the risk increases. Belly fat contains harmful substances that contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

waist circumference
Until now, the guideline has been that a woman with a waist circumference from 88 centimeters runs an increased health risk. For men, the limit is 102 centimeters. “However, our research shows that the risk of dying in women already starts to increase with a girth of more than 80 centimeters, in men already above 94 centimeters – even if the weight is normal,” says professor Petra Peeters of the University of Groningen. UMC Utrecht, one of the researchers.Time for action?
You can measure yourself whether you have a healthy or unhealthy waist circumference. Measure your waist circumference between the lower rib and the top of the hip bone. That could be over the belly button, but it doesn’t have to be. Exhale, relax your abdomen and measure your circumference. Take two measurements just to be sure. If your waist circumference is more than 102 centimeters (men) or 88 centimeters (women) your health may be at risk, especially if your blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar are also too high. Time for action? You will notice that the centimeters decrease quickly through exercise and healthy eating. And know that with every inch of belly lost, your health improves.

walk
If you don’t want fat around the waist and on the stomach, you have to put in extra effort. This is evident, for example, from research by the American Duke University among people over 40. In those who led a sedentary lifestyle, the waist size had increased by two centimeters after six months. The people who walked at a leisurely pace for half an hour six times a week lost more than half a kilo, but their waist remained the same. In the people who jogged or run for half an hour six times a week, their waist size had decreased by three centimeters after three months. They also lost almost two and a half kilos. The more you exert yourself physically, the slimmer your waist. Incidentally, it is not smart to bet on one horse. Most people don’t lose weight if they just exercise a little more. The extra energy consumption of an hour on the exercise bike or walking for half an hour is disappointing. Plus, a workout makes you hungry. The best combination is less and healthier food and more exercise. For optimal results, spend an hour every day in motion, for example cycling, walking, running or swimming. But also do strength training at least twice a week.

Train at the gym
With age, muscle mass decreases and fat mass increases. That applies to men and women. You can see that in the mirror: everything becomes a bit ‘slacier’. Due to the reduced muscle mass, the metabolism also decreases. The older you are, the fewer calories your body needs. That explains why people often gain weight slowly but surely, even if they continue to eat exactly the same. The cure? Build more muscle mass. And not just around the tummy, because whatever the TV commercials would have you believe, your tummy size won’t decrease just by doing abs. However, with a total program of strength training at the gym. Because with that you replace fat with muscle mass all over the body. And because muscle takes up less space than fat, you’ll lose inches.

muscle building
In addition, with every kilogram of muscle tissue you build, the body burns 75 more calories daily. Every day, whether you exercise or not, those extra muscles help increase metabolism. If you manage to ‘exchange’ two kilos of fat for two kilos of muscle, you can eat an extra 150 kilocalories daily without gaining weight. If you do a strenuous strength training session, you also burn a lot of calories. Furthermore, the metabolism is increased hours after a strength training session, because the body is busy building muscle. So triple the gain from strength training! Concentrate on the major muscle groups, such as chest, back and legs. It is precisely those muscles that can quickly grow extra mass and thereby increase the metabolism. And no, you’re really not going to look like a bodybuilder. More muscle mass will ensure that you are tighter in your skin, that you walk more upright and therefore appear slimmer. Age is no excuse not to do strength training, because 65-year-olds can build as much muscle mass as 45-year-olds, American fitness expert and researcher Wayne Westcott discovered. After ten weeks of training at the gym two or three times a week, subjects gained about three pounds more muscle and lost three pounds of fat. Good news for the women: after those ten weeks, their waists were on average 2.5 centimeters slimmer (it has not been studied in men, but they also become more streamlined through training).

Examples of training schedules can be found at www.eigenkracht.nl. Want to know more about sports and muscles? Read ‘On your own strength’ by Hans Wassink. Arko Sports Media BV, €24.95.

Relax
Women – this has not been studied in men – who experience a lot of stress often have a lot of belly fat. Even if they are not too heavy. Scientists believe that cortisol plays a role in this. In chronic stress, the body produces a lot of cortisol. Under the influence of this stress hormone, fat would mainly be transported to the abdomen. In particular, the so-called visceral fat is increasing: the fat that you cannot see, but that is located deep in the abdomen between the organs. So make sure you recover well from stress. Lower your cortisol level with a healthy lifestyle, a good night’s sleep and sufficient relaxation. If only because too much stress often makes you less motivated to eat healthily and exercise enough. Especially relax while eating. If you eat slowly, you will taste more and chew better. In addition, you will notice better whether you are satiated. It takes at least twenty minutes for the stomach to receive the signal ‘enough!’ delivers to the brain. By eating slowly and consciously you will naturally eat less and healthier.

Choose unsaturated fats
Does the cookie jar beckon? Then watch out. Because packaged biscuits and cakes often contain trans fats. These fats would prefer to settle in the abdomen. This was demonstrated by Wake Forest University in America with a six-year study of monkeys. Half of them were put on a diet rich in trans fats, the other half were fed a lot of unsaturated fatty acids. All monkeys got the same amount of calories. But at the end of the experiment, the monkeys that had eaten the trans fats turned out to be 7.2 percent heavier and all that weight had settled in their stomachs.

There is also evidence that eating saturated fats contributes to a fatter weight. So avoid trans fats and saturated fats, rather opt for (poly) unsaturated fatty acids. Trans fats are found in products that contain hydrogenated or hydrogenated fat, such as fries or croquettes deep-fried in hydrogenated vegetable fat. Also packaged biscuits, cakes, some types of chips and croissants often contain trans fats. Saturated fats can be found in butter, hard margarine, full-fat cheese, whole milk products, sausage, fatty meat and ice cream. (Poly)unsaturated fats are found in liquid frying fat, olive oil and other vegetable oils, low-fat margarine, French fries, mayonnaise, avocado, nuts, soya, seeds, olives, whole grain bread, brown rice, poultry such as chicken and turkey and (oily) fish.Eat mostly whole grain products
With a diet rich in whole grain products you burn more belly fat, an American experiment shows. On a low-calorie diet, the subjects all lost the same amount in three months. However, those who followed a diet of whole grains and brown rice lost more than twice as much belly fat as those who ate refined grain products such as white bread, pasta and white rice.

In other words, choose unrefined products over refined products. Unrefined products contain slow carbohydrates. The body can live on that for a long time: you are full for longer and you do not suffer from the ‘sugar peak’, after which a dip always follows and you want to eat. In addition, the fat is burned more efficiently.

Do not smoke
Many people find it difficult to quit smoking because they think smoking helps to maintain a healthy weight and avoid chips and sweets. They are right about that. But smoking also causes a different fat distribution. This was shown in a British study of nearly 22,000 men and women aged 45 to 79 years. The smokers appeared to have a thicker substance than the non-smokers. And those who had never lit a cigarette were the thinnest.Comparing apples and pears

Four questions about the difference between gaining and losing weight in men and women

Do men get fat differently than women?
Men who gain weight are given an apple model: the fat is mainly around the waist. That’s also called a beer belly, although it really doesn’t just take beer to grow such a belly. In women, the fat usually settles more around the hips and buttocks, the so-called pear model. The differences are mainly due to the sex hormones. That is also the reason that women get a more ‘masculine’ fat distribution after the menopause. Because when estrogen production decreases, fat distribution also changes. The fat will then go around the waist and on the stomach, even if you have stopped eating. Unfortunately, the apple model is worse for health.

Do men need more calories than women?
Yes. This is because men naturally have greater muscle mass and less fat tissue than women. On average, 20 percent of the body of men over the age of fifty consists of adipose tissue, in women this is 30 percent. Muscle tissue is more ‘active’ tissue than fat tissue. Therefore, men consume more calories than women. The tables of health organizations state that women over the age of fifty need an average of 1900 kilocalories, for men that is 2100. A small difference perhaps, but a difference that recurs daily and therefore does count.

Do men lose weight faster than women?
Most of the time. There are various explanations for this. The first explanation is that men naturally need more calories. They therefore have a greater effect when there is a significant energy restriction. In addition, men are more likely to exercise if they want to lose weight. Together with less and healthier food, this will quickly help. Another possible explanation is that men are less likely than women to experience emotional eating. It is more difficult for emotional eaters to stick to a diet plan.

Is there a typical male or female diet?
No, there are no products that are specifically suitable for men or women who want to lose weight. It is good to know that protein-rich products are the best to satisfy hunger. Think of products such as lean meat (steak, chicken breast, beef steaks, tartare), all kinds of fish, eggs and dairy products. Together with a large amount of fruit and vegetables, this is the best basis for a slimming diet. Fruits and vegetables are relatively low in calories and rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber.