Is Belly Fat Putting Your Health At Risk?

17 August, 2010 (18:49) | Health, YouTube, dieting, healthcare, heart disease, life, nutrition, weight loss, women, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

Another study finds belly bulge contributes to four serious medical conditions that can ultimately lead to death.

It seems women should have a waist circumference no greater than 35 inches, otherwise they are at a greater risk for heart disease, asthma, breast cancer as well as dementia.

“Even if you haven’t had a noticeable weight gain, if you notice your waist size increasing that’s an important sign,” said lead author Eric Jacobs of the American Cancer Society, which funded the study. “It’s time to eat better and start exercising more.”

Bulging bellies are a problem for most Americans older than 50. It’s estimated that more than half of older men and more than 70 percent of older women have bigger waistlines than recommended. And it’s a growing problem: Average waistlines have expanded by about an inch per decade since the 1960s.

Although I’m not past the recommended girth, I have noticed an evolution of how my body is distributing its weight. I wrote about how I’ve noticed that I’ve been carrying my weight differently since I hit 40 (with much of it in my belly), and the difficult time I’ve been having trying to lose the last 10 pounds.

I can’t help but think that my age has something to do with my inability to get rid of those last ten pounds. At 42, I’ve been observing some strange happenings to my body. Oddly, my weight has stayed relatively the same, but how the weight is distributed on my body has been changing dramatically (I seem to be plumping up around my waist and belly, while at the same time shrinking in areas I would prefer to keep).

In this video Dr. Oz talks about how a high belly fat measurement can take up to 15 years off your life, and shows you how to measure it for yourself…