Your waist is as wide as or wider than your hips
Whether you call it a beer belly, love handles, or a spare tire, carrying fat around the middle of your body is not a good thing. In fact, one study found that people who are average weight but have excess belly fat may be at higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who are officially obese. The culprit is the layer of fat, called the omentum, that’s inside the belly and is located dangerously close to important organs. Also called visceral or intra-abdominal fat, omental fat can travel quickly to your liver or through the bloodstream to lodge along the artery walls.
Abdominal fat is a tip-off to metabolic syndrome and has been linked with heart disease, artery disease, and diabetes. Doctors define metabolic syndrome as having three out of these four signs: obesity, with fat concentrated around your waist; high blood pressure; high cholesterol; and high blood sugar. For an official diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, doctors define obesity as having a waist circumference of 40 inches or more for men and 35 inches or more for women, although waist circumference cutoff points can vary by race. Once you have metabolic syndrome, you’re likely to become prediabetic or insulin resistant, which is why your doctor will order regular diabetes testing and suggest lifestyle changes to reduce your risk.
Surprising clue: Your belt won’t stay up, or it makes your pants ride high over your belly or low under an overhanging gut. When your waist is larger than what’s above and below it, things tend to slip.
Patients come from all across the nation, as well as several foreign countries, to seek services at Vinings Surgery Center. Dr. Colgrove is noted for his cosmetic surgical skills of the face and body, including face lifts, breast augmentation and body contouring, using the latest and most successful surgical techniques. Dr. Colgrove takes great pride in his plastic surgery specialty and constantly strives to keep abreast of the latest, most advanced techniques in order to offer his patients the best options available. Surgeries are performed onsite at Vinings Surgery Center located in Atlanta, Ga. Our clinic is convenient for those who live in or outside of Atlanta.
