People with stomach problems are prone to metabolic syndrome. Here are the 5 major risk factors! Nutritionist: These tests make visceral fat invisible

People with abdominal problems should pay attention that visceral fat accumulated in the abdomen will affect the body's metabolism, leading to increased triglyceride concentrations and blood sugar in the blood, resulting in metabolic syndrome, and especially increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes! Nutritionists remind us that there are five major risk factors for metabolic syndrome and the numbers that must be watched. In addition, visceral fat can be revealed through some testing methods!

Do you look like you are not fat and your limbs are thin, but your belly is big? Or even if you have been exercising hard, it is still difficult to lose the belly fat! Nutritionist Pan Fuzi from Beitou Health Management Hospital reminds us that what we should pay attention to at this time is not just the problem of external obesity, but we should be careful about excessive "visceral fat"!

Nutritionist Pan Fuzi pointed out that although the Body Mass Index (BMI) is mostly used as a method to assess a healthy body shape, waist circumference management is often neglected. Modern people often have a westernized diet and bad living habits. Excessive waist circumference is a common health problem. It should be noted that the BMI index cannot fully reflect the degree of visceral fat accumulation. According to the National Nutrition and Health Survey from 2017 to 2020, more than 50% of people over the age of 19 have excessive waist circumference.

Excessive visceral fat increases the chance of developing various metabolic diseases

The most easily observable symptom of visceral fat is waist circumference. Excessive visceral fat can lead to abdominal obesity and an increase in waist circumference. When visceral fat is active, it releases free fatty acids, leading to insulin resistance, which increases the chances of developing diabetes and various other metabolic diseases. The Ministry of Health and Welfare also pointed out that studies have shown that when there is too much visceral fat, the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes is 1.44 and 1.56 times that of the general population, respectively.

5 major risk factors and numbers for metabolic syndrome

1. Waist and abdominal obesity: Abnormal values: male waist circumference ≧90cm, female waist circumference ≧80cm.

2. Increased blood pressure: Abnormal values: systolic blood pressure ≧130 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≧85 mmHg.

3. Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: Abnormal values: <40mg/dL for men and <50mg/dL for women.

4. Increased fasting blood glucose level: Abnormal value: ≧100 mg/dL.

5. Increased triglycerides: Abnormal value: ≧150 mg/dL.

If the waist circumference exceeds the standard size (the standard waist circumference for men should be less than 90cm, about 35 inches, and the standard waist circumference for women should be less than 80cm, about 31 inches), and the blood pressure may be high (systolic blood pressure ≧130mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≧85mmHg), high fasting blood sugar (fasting blood sugar value ≧100mg/dL), high fasting triglycerides (≧150mg/dL), and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (male <40mg/dL, female <50mg/dL), as long as three or more of the above five factors are met, you are already a member of metabolic syndrome, and your risk of getting diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, heart disease and stroke in the future will be higher than that of the average person.

Standard waist size. (Photo provided by Beitou Health Management Hospital)

To reduce visceral fat, you need to start by changing your eating habits.

Nutritionist Pan Fuzi said that in order to reduce visceral fat, we have to look at the main causes of its formation. Most of them come from abnormal diet, preference for fried food, high-sugar food or drinking habits, etc., which can easily lead to the increase of visceral fat. If the eating habits are not changed, even if the amount of exercise is large, the reduction of visceral fat is still very limited.

To find out the visceral fat index, these tests are essential

As visceral fat cannot be assessed by the naked eye, it is recommended that the public include a DEXA dual-energy bone density test in their health check-up, which can detect visceral fat indicators in the body together with whole-body bone density; or use a BIA bioimpedance analyzer to pass a microcurrent through the human body to obtain the body's fat and non-fat content, and measure body composition analysis, such as: overall and local muscle mass, overall and abdominal body fat, minerals and body type, etc.