From Beer Bellies to ET Shapes: How to Banish Belly Fat for Good

Some people have an average weight and slim arms and legs, but their bellies bulge.

Our abdomen is the most suitable place to store fat. This is because it needs to protect the body’s organs from external impacts.

While protecting organs with sturdy bones would be the safest, unlike the immobile head and chest areas, the abdomen is a functional region responsible for various human movements. Having bones in this area would make even everyday movements difficult. Therefore, in the case of the abdomen, muscles and fat take on this role.

However, when there is a lack of muscle or excessive fat accumulation in this favorable fat-storing area, belly fat gradually becomes more pronounced.

There are various forms of belly bulge: cases where the lower abdomen protrudes due to insufficient core muscles, cases where the abdomen itself is large and layered due to obesity, cases where the upper abdomen bulges out due to alcohol and dietary issues, and cases where the person looks thin but the belly protrudes like ET.

Why does someone with slim arms and legs have a belly bulge? The most significant characteristic of people with this ET body shape is that overall fat and muscle mass are lacking despite the protruding belly. This phenomenon is more commonly observed in men than in women.

This discrepancy can be attributed to the differences in fat distribution between men and women. While women accumulate fat around the thighs and buttocks, men store fat predominantly in the abdominal region.

Furthermore, unlike women, who store a lot of subcutaneous fat, much of men’s fat is stored internally, particularly visceral fat. Visceral fat, located behind the abdominal muscles, is not palpable and tends to protrude firmly and prominently due to the presence of the abdominal muscles.

People who want to get rid of this belly bulge might worry, “If I lose belly fat, my arms and legs will get thinner, and if I gain weight, my belly will protrude more.”

However, this protruding belly can be resolved relatively quickly. Visceral fat, quickly stored in the abdomen, can be burned as an energy source faster than subcutaneous fat due to its sensitivity to hormones.

Dietary habits are the most critical factor here. Changing the habit of consuming large amounts of food at once is necessary, which is the most significant cause of visceral fat.

Overeating results in a large influx of calories into the body within a short period, causing fat cells to rush in like a flood. Consequently, they cannot be distributed throughout the body and accumulate around the abdomen, where they can be stored functionally the fastest. Moreover, in men, the absorption of fatty acids often occurs predominantly in visceral fat due to hormonal influences.

Therefore, dividing the same amount of food into smaller, more frequent meals is better than consuming a large amount. Additionally, it’s recommended to abstain from alcohol or to drink it sparingly. Alcohol is considered a toxic substance in the body, so when it enters the body, it blocks fat metabolism and focuses on breaking down alcohol. The fatty acids pushed back in priority and not broken down are synthesized into triglycerides, which accumulate in the abdomen. This contributes to the formation of a beer belly.

Strength training to increase muscle mass is preferred over aerobic exercise. As mentioned earlier, individuals with a protruding belly tend to have insufficient fat in areas other than the belly.

Even if one engages in aerobic exercise to lose belly fat, it may not produce significant effects as fat is reduced from the entire body rather than specific areas. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on increasing the overall muscle mass that the body lacks.