The concept of “spot reducing” is behind many of the infomercial products marketed in the fitness industry. The concept is that if you train a specific area of your body through repetitive low intensity muscle contractions (i.e., massive amounts of abdominal crunches), then the fat overlying the area will decrease (i.e., reduction of belly fat). UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS ONLY A MYTH but one that is perpetuated by continuous bombardment of new “spot reducing” products advertised via infomercials. A basic understanding of exercise physiology will help individuals understand how the body actually accumulates excess fat, where it is stored, and how it is lost. There are two types of fat stored in the body. The first is essential fat (play video). This is fat that is stored in the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, muscles, central nervous system, and bone marrow. This fat is “essential” for the organs to function properly. The second type of fat is stored fat. Stored fat includes the fat that is surrounding the internal organs of the body (for protection from trauma) and fat that is subcutaneous (stored just beneath the skin’s surface). The stored fat located under the skin is the larger portion of total stored fat. The body was designed to store excess fat as an energy reserve. If the individual consumes more calories than it needs, the excess calories are stored as subcutaneous fat. The good thing is that subcutaneous stored fat can be reversed and utilized as an energy source when blood sugar is low. Why do women have more body fat than men?Women have more essential fat than men due to sex-specific fat that women need for pregnancy. The lowest limit of essential body fat for women is 12% while the lowest limit for men is 3%. In other words, fat is essential for the healthy functioning of the body and women will need to carry more body fat than men. How can I reduce subcutaneous fat?Subcutaneous fat is reduced when the body needs fuel to keep the body moving. As muscles are exercised and blood flow is increased to and from the muscles, the body is better able to mobilize from the fat stored within the body and metabolize that fat into energy. The key to losing subcutaneous fat is to add low-intensity exercise to a daily routine. Low-intensity exercise pulls directly from stored fat for its energy source. Aerobic exercise can also help with fat metabolism in that higher level aerobic exercise helps speed the mobilization and transition of stored fat to usable energy within the blood stream. A combination of both types of exercise can help to reduce excess stored body fat. Can I influence how fat is removed from my body?It is important to understand that an individual cannot choose the location from which stored fat is metabolized. Fat is stored in a unique and systematic pattern for each individual mostly based on genetics. Excess... |