Although belly fat has a negative reputation, recent studies have shown that, depending on your level of movement, some types of belly fat might actually be healthier than others.
According to Jeffrey Horowitz, an exercise physiology professor at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, “fat is really misunderstood.” “Our fat, particularly the fat under our skin, is a very important place for us to store energy.”
Horowitz and colleagues found in a recent research that was published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Metabolism that individuals with obesity who engage in regular aerobic exercise had better belly fat tissue, or the subcutaneous fat that is deposited just under the skin, than obese individuals who do not exercise.
Based on their long-term exercise habits, the study discovered that persons with the same level of body fat essentially behaved differently when it came to the fat.
Horowitz and his colleagues enlisted thirty-two obese or overweight adults, half of whom were men and half of whom were women. The average duration of regular exercise was actually 11 years, with 16 having exercised at least four times a week for at least two years. The remaining individuals had more inactive lifestyles. Age, biological sex, body fat percentage, and body mass index, or BMI, were matched for each individual.
The quantity of blood flow, inflammatory indicators, and tissue stiffness and fibrousness were all assessed by the researchers using samples of adipose tissue taken from each subject’s abdomen.
They found that exercise appears to reduce a person’s risk of heart disease and metabolic diseases like Type 2 diabetes by causing biochemical and structural changes in abdominal fat, often known as adipose tissue.
Regular exercisers had less fibrous or stiff adipose tissue, which permits fat cells under the skin to enlarge and store fat, the body’s main energy source.
Although it may sound negative, having growing fat cells is really better for health than having rigid fat tissue. This is because extra fat is stored as visceral fat, a more hazardous form of adipose tissue, if the body is unable to deposit it in subcutaneous fat cells.
Visceral fat envelops organs and is deposited deep within the abdomen. This kind of fat has long been known to researchers to be associated with worse health and a higher risk of conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
Hence, more fat may be stored under the skin, where it is less dangerous, thanks to more flexible subcutaneous fat tissue.
The study also revealed that the adipose tissue of exercisers had more blood vessels and less inflammation than that of nonexercisers, suggesting that regular exercise altered the body’s use of fat.
Not involved in the research, Dr. Jaime Almandoz is the medical director of the Weight Wellness Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “If you have more blood vessels going into these cells, it suggests they are metabolizing more,” he said.
This indicates that those who exercised more seemed to be able to use their fat stores for energy more effectively, independent of their BMI. The study also discovered that their fat tissue included higher levels of proteins related to fat metabolism.
Regular exercisers also showed improved fitness and insulin sensitivity, both of which are associated with a decreased risk of diabetes. Additionally, their adipose tissue was less inflamed.
Dr. Aayush Visaria, an internal medicine resident at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School who was not involved in the research, said that people who exercise regularly “appear to have much healthier subcutaneous adipose tissue, which would suggest that they have better overall metabolic function.” “It strengthens the argument that there are a lot of variables involved in obesity, so it’s not appropriate to generalize about someone’s body type.”
The study adds to the increasing body of research demonstrating that a person’s body mass index (BMI) or the amount of fat they retain on their body is not always a reliable indicator of their overall health.
“We’ve already demonstrated the significance of body fat distribution, but this additional layer demonstrates the significance of the type of fat you carry and the real impact that exercise has on your body,” said Visaria.
