You may or may not be aware, but there are essentially two types of fat: good fat and bad fat. Good fat is called subcutaneous fat, which is fat that is deposited under the skin and acts primarily as insulation (caution: too much good fat can be bad). Bad fat, known as visceral fat, is deposited in the abdomen and surrounds the intestines, stomach, liver, and pancreas.
Visceral fat is harmful because, for some reason, it secretes inflammatory chemicals, excess free fatty acids, and several hormones that are harmful to your body’s metabolism. Complicating this is the fact that these harmful substances are released into the venous circulation, which goes directly to the liver. The liver becomes overwhelmed and can progress to fibrosis and eventually cirrhosis. Diseases occurring along with the liver toxicity include diabetes, atherosclerosis, dementia, and muscle loss. On the other hand, good fat is metabolically less active and releases its byproducts into the systemic venous circulation, where muscles and other organs can metabolize them. In other words, fat is essential and necessary for life, but you want minimal visceral fat and a proportional good fat. But how do you tell?
Fancy technology, including DEXA scans and body impedance measurements, can differentiate the two fats. However, a simple home test to determine your visceral fat is the waist-to-hip ratio (WTH). Here’s how to do it using a flexible tape measure. Take your measurements in centimeters as it makes the math easier.
For the waist measurement, stand straight, measure with your breath exhaled, and place the tape parallel to the floor at the level of the belly button. If you have a big protuberant belly, measure approximately 1.5 inches above the belly button.
For the hip measurement, measure at either the widest point on the buttocks or over the hip predominance, which is the hip bone that you feel on the side of the hip.
To figure your WTH ratio, divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement. A number less than 0.9 for men and less than 0.85 for women is considered normal and healthy. A ratio greater than that correlates with an unhealthy lifestyle, elevated visceral fat and chronic disease progression.
So, before you eat that second piece of cake, get out your tape measure and your calculator, figure your ratio, and ask yourself, “I only have one body, why am I harming it?”
Dr. Charlie Barnett contributes to KnoxTNToday, where he writes the weekly column DocTalk, sharing his expertise in health and wellness. He is currently in private practice, focusing on longevity and precision medicine at NovaTheros.
Enjoyed this article? Read more DocTalk columns by Dr. Charlie Barnett.
Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our free newsletter. Comments may be sent to news@knoxtntoday.com.
