There's no miracle fix for belly fat, warns doctor

By Sam Downing|

The diets that do and don't work

As winter winds down, anxiety about belly fat ratchets up — but it's not how you'll look in a summer swimsuit that should concern you most.

Belly fat is linked to worse health outcomes than fat stored at the hips or thighs, particularly visceral fat — the kind that lies deep inside your abdomen and wraps around your organs.

Complicated and expensive machines are needed to precisely calculate how much visceral fat you carry, but you can get a good-enough indicator by measuring your waist circumference: wrap a tape measure or piece of string around your midsection, at the midpoint between your hip bone and your lowermost ribs, roughly level with your navel.

A measurement of more than 94cm for men or 80cm for women increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and other diseases.

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What's the best diet to lose belly fat?

That question is the subject of a new paper published in the American College of Sports Medicine's Health and Fitness Journal.

"It is well established that the real winner in the battle against the bulge is still an energy deficit from a healthy diet and regular exercise, alone or combined," writes author Dr Kari Pilolla, from the faculty of food science and nutrition at California Polytechnic State University.

Translation: the "best" fix for belly fat is burning more energy via physical activity than you take in from food. Eat less, move more — the same advice for losing any kind of body fat.

While intermittent fasting, high-protein diets and Paleo-style diets are touted as belly fat magic bullets, Pilolla writes that none are proven to be more effective than simple calorie restriction.

Then what should you eat if you want to lose belly fat?

"A great start to preventing and reducing abdominal obesity is to follow a diet that encourages foods high in fiber such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains and  limits foods high in trans and saturated fats, such as fatty meats, baked goods, and highly processed foods," says Pilolla.

In order words: basic healthy eating. Pilolla suggests adhering to these guidelines by following either the DASH or a Mediterranean-style diet, which both prescribe eating patterns of varied food groups rather than rigid meals and foods.

A 2017 study found Mediterranean-style eating can reduce visceral fat even if you don't lose much weight overall. (Click or tap here for Coach's guide to starting the Mediterranean diet, and to starting the DASH diet.)

Pilolla recommends working with a health professional such as a registered dietitian to find the most effective eating plan to lose belly fat and avoid quick-fix scams.

"There is still no miracle diet, food, nutrient, or bioactive component that will target abdominal fat," she concludes.

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