Weight Loss – Could Your Belly Fat Be Smoker's Belly?
If you smoke and carry weight around your middle, that belly fat could be smoker's belly! Most people have never heard of 'smoker's belly' but studies have been done in the past more than once that explain why you're on the thin side (or fat side) and have a protruding stomach.
Smokers usually weigh less than nonsmokers but not all smokers are slim either. And even though smokers weigh less than nonsmokers they tend to have more belly fat. One of the studies that was done in England of 21,800 British men and women reported that even though smokers have a lower BMI (Body Mass Index) they have more belly fat.
And compared to people who have never smoked, smokers had the smallest waist to hip ratio than current smokers. And the more cigarettes that are smoked the larger the belly. So if you start smoking even more cigarettes it means you will continue to increase the size of your belly. When current smokers were compared to former smokers or people who have never smoked, the smokers had bigger waist measurements and smaller hip measurements.
This research suggests that smoking may lead to belly fat if you do not have any now and lead to more belly fat if you do have it now and also a reduction of lean muscle mass.
Even though smokers usually weigh less than nonsmokers do, not all smokers are slim, of course. When smokers start putting on the weight or fat they are more likely than nonsmokers to deposit it around the belly and this is verified in another study.
It's still not known why smokers tend to accumulate more belly fat than nonsmokers do. But some researchers make a guess that smokers might be more likely to eat foods that are high in saturated fat than non-smokers but this has not been proven. Why the body tends to distribute the weight to the mid-section is yet to be discovered. Perhaps the chemicals in the cigarettes or tobacco influence the hormone levels.
What can you do about it if you have a fat belly? Quitting smoking is the first thing you want to do. When you quit smoking the body will adjust and slowly you'll lose the belly fat provided you're not taking in extra calories. Combine this with a weight loss program or weight loss plan or diet that you devise and you will lose weight and get rid of belly fat fast. You waist line will shrink and you will lose inches that have been around for a long time.
Weight Loss – Could Your Belly Fat Be Smoker's Belly? by Helen Hecker
