It’s true that fat accumulation is related to genetics; some people are naturally more prone to gaining belly fat. Sex also affects fat distribution; due to hormone level differences, men usually find it easier to “grow” their bellies, while young women are more likely to gain fat on their hips and legs. After menopause, women’s hormone levels change, making them also more likely to gain belly fat.
However, genetics and sex are not the whole truth. Many small things in daily life are the “culprits” accelerating your belly’s growth.
The human body mainly has two fat storage locations: subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. The biggest threat to health is excess visceral fat. Generally speaking, new fat from food is processed by the liver and transported and stored in the subcutaneous tissue in the form of VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein). When daily activities require energy, this fat is used and consumed by the body, keeping the belly in a “storage-consumption” balance. But sometimes, this balance is broken by some unexpected situations…
Here are the five main behavioral and environmental factors contributing to this accelerated belly fat accumulation according to the sources:
- Eating Too Many Refined Staple Foods
Staple foods made from refined rice and flour, as well as pastries, bring a large amount of carbohydrates. This causes blood sugar to rise rapidly. Insulin works hard to push cells to use the sugar, but when cells simply can’t use it anymore, the excess sugar has no choice but to be converted by the liver into fat and stored in various fat tissues. Accumulated over days and months, the belly quietly gets a little bigger. - Adding Sugar Everywhere in Life
Milk tea, drinks, and sweet snacks often contain a lot of sugar for better taste, including large amounts of fructose. Fructose is less sensitive to insulin, and most cells don’t take it up; it generally needs the liver to process it into glucose and lipids for utilization. The lipids produced by the liver from fructose are more likely to accumulate in the abdominal area, forming visceral fat. The effect of fructose, accumulated over time, also makes the belly quietly get a little bigger. - Anxiety, Mental Strain, and High Pressure
Under mental stress, the body secretes more cortisol. Cortisol promotes the redistribution of newly generated fat. Excessive cortisol constantly promotes fat moving to the area near the viscera. This also makes the belly quietly get a little bigger.
- Drinking Beer and Hard Liquor Heavily
Alcohol is considered useless, or even toxic, “waste” by the human body. It requires the liver to work extra shifts to process it quickly. Alcohol causes the liver’s fat metabolism to make errors, resulting in more fat accumulating in the liver (easily forming fatty liver). It also accelerates the accumulation of visceral fat. For the body, every drop of alcohol is not innocent. - Neglecting Trans Fats
Trans fats are often overlooked. Their content is not high in natural foods, but they are a major disaster zone in flaky pastries, popcorn, and fried foods. Unlike normal fats, the body doesn’t like trans fats much. Once they enter the body, they tend to cause an increase in visceral fat by affecting metabolism. Uncontrolled consumption of various ultra-processed foods over the years also makes the belly quietly get a little bigger.
Visceral fat doesn’t just make the belly fat; its harm might exceed your imagination. The body’s capacity to store visceral fat is limited. If this limit is reached, but lipids are still continuously sent here, they will “overflow”. They will deposit on internal organs, or even inside them, becoming “ectopic fat”. At this point, the body is like a range hood that hasn’t been cleaned for years, with various organs wrapped in thick oil. Excessive fat doesn’t just drag down organ function, causing fatty liver, fatty kidney, etc., it also affects systemic metabolism. It harms the heart and brain and increases the risk of cancer.
Waist circumference is an important health indicator, and being overweight is truly dangerous. Friends and family whose situation matches the description should pay attention! When you can’t resist indulging, drinking, or staying up late, you can pinch your belly. Your heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, intestines… might be surrounded by fat. Be a bit kinder to them and yourself.