Having a pot-belly has become very rampant among men in the Nigerian society. Apart from affecting smart dressing in men, it poses health hazards. Even the women folks strongly frown at this odd development.
There are pills in the market today and numerous exercise routines that claim to rid belly fat. However, changes in a person’s lifestyle are a more direct and more effective approach to eliminating the problem.
Excessive belly fat is said to increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Here are 5 of the most common causes of belly fat:

1. Drinking Too Much Alcohol
“Beer belly” is the common term for excess fat that has accumulated due to drinking a lot of alcohol on a regular basis. Beer isn’t the only culprit, though. Contrary to the specific term, drinking an excessive amount of any alcoholic beverage can cause beer belly. (Except wine, according to research.) Alcohol contains nothing but empty calories that are stored in the stomach area.

2. Eating Too Many Bad Carbohydrates
There are good carbs and there are bad carbs. Eating unrefined carbs like fruit, legumes, vegetables and whole grains is good for you, and helps in weight control. Eating biscuits, cakes, donuts, white bread and other refined carbs does the opposite. Eat too many of these carbs and a person’s insulin level will rise. Their metabolism will slow down, and the excess sugar the body can’t use will be stored as belly fat.

3. Stress Overload
Too much stress has many negative impacts on the body. Stress causes the body to switch into survival mode. One way the body ensures its survival is by storing more fat so starvation doesn’t occur if there’s no food eaten. Stress also causes the body to produce excessive amounts of Cortisol. This hormone moves stored fat to the abdomen area and creates belly fat. According to a study by the Psychology Department at Yale University, women (in particular) who had a higher amount of belly fat were more negative, and lived with higher levels of stress.

4. Genetics
This cause of belly fat may be the toughest one to hear, because it entails not really being able to do all that much to prevent it. Genetics play a role in deciding where the fat distribution goes in your body, and it practically relates to two different body types. Either you are apple- shaped or pear-shaped. If you are pear-shaped, then the fat generally accumulates in your lower areas like your fanny. If you are apple-shaped, then your body has the tendency of storing fat around your midsection, thus leading to belly fat.

5. Sedentary Lifestyle
A sedentary lifestyle is defined as one in which a person fails to exercise regularly, or fails to get any exercise at all. The biggest problem with a sedentary lifestyle is that it can increase your chances of developing serious health conditions, which are all somewhat preventable. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, you are raising your chances of dying younger, yet you can easily avoid this by simply moving more and exercising regularly. It commonly consists of the practice of sitting on the couch and watching too much TV. Such a lifestyle is not limited just to TV watching; it also involves reading too much or using the computer too much. Basically, if you are not moving enough, it is sedentary.

PREVENTION

Can the ‘beer belly’ be prevented?
The Beer belly can be prevented as well as managed. Here are some of the best ways to prevent as well as manage beer belly.

Eat right
As a rule of thumb, eat less calories than you burn. This is the single most important step towards cutting belly fat.
Reducing calorie intake involves the obvious; eating smaller portions of food, cutting fried foods, reducing sugary beverages, processed carbohydrates especially all white starchy products, fatty meat and fatty dairy products.

Avoid excessive drinking
If it is not possible to cut on beer completely, reducing the amount consumed is a great option. Switching to either light beers (less than 100 calories per drink) or wine can also be a good alternative, but, limit the amount of wine consumed as well.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting alcohol to one serving per day for women and two for men.

Burn Calories
Burning calories requires a physically active lifestyle involving regular exercises such as running, brisk walking, aerobics and other various physical exercises.
Two other considerations that must accompany a regular exercise regime are: healthy foods and calorie-controlled diet.
Which foods can flatten the Belly ?
Whole grains have been shown to generally reduce weight gain.
A recent study carried out by Professor Penny Kris-Etherton and her team from Pennsylvania State University which was published 2008 showed that participants who ate whole grains lost more weight from the abdominal area than another group that ate the same diet, but with all refined grains.

Bottom Line
It is evidently clear that belly fat can lead to severe health consequences such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart diseases.
Without doubt, this demands investing in behavior that eliminates the belly fat.
The proven way to cut the belly fat is controlling the calories. The second thing is increasing food considered to be healthier and rich in nutrients and fibre such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low fat foods, fish and poultry products. The third and the last but most important is to increase physical activity. Physical activities are not only good for cutting belly fat but also for overall well-being.

cc: Sissy3
cc: dominique

It's well

Well said,those pics are quite funny but still contain some meaningful messages.
The principle of reducing or eliminating belly fat cum overall weight gain is this "eat less and exercise more". "Eat less" here means consumption of healthy meals in moderate proportion as well as minimizing the consumption of unhealthy meals. Then exercise more. Exercise could be in form of weight-lifting(my favourite), cardios, resistance training(pull-ups, push-ups and the likes), yoga, dancing etc.

Suck your belle, make your shirt fine for body.

AJOBI77:
It's well

kindly check ur mail, sir