Visceral Versus Subcutaneous Fat: Understanding The Differences And Its Implications For You

As you go about your fat loss diet program, there's no question that your primary goal is to reduce that unsightly body fat that you have on your body. You know the stuff – the jiggly tissue that occurs under your arms, on your lower abdomen, as well as in the inner and back thigh region, all places that you feel are definitely your primary 'trouble zones'.

But, in your quest to cure these trouble spots, one thing that you should consider for a second is the fact that often this body fat isn't really the biggest of your worries.  What is more troublesome is the body fat that you don't even see.

Let's go into further details on this topic so that you can gain a clear understanding of the types of body fat on your body as well as the implications of each.

Subcutaneous Body Fat

Subcutaneous body fat refers to all the body fat that you can see on your body. It's the body fat that you can pinch on the sides of your stomach, the body fat that is located on the arms, the body fat that seems to never want to budge on your lower back region, and the body fat that makes you self-aware of your legs while wearing a pair of shorts.

Now, this body fat isn't healthy to have because it is excess weight and will cause there to be excess stress on the joints due to all that weight coming down.

In addition to that, it will still put your health at risk as it can increase your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and inflammation, however it's not the most detrimental tissue that you need to be concerned about.

Visceral Body Fat

What's much more detrimental and what you really need to be concerned about is the visceral fat that you have on your body.

Visceral fat refers to fat that's located within body cavities and surrounds all the main organs in the body.  This is the fat that may start to interfere with their proper function if it builds up to a high enough level and could potentially put you at risk for heart disease and stroke if it begins to crowd its way into your arteries.

Visceral body fat that's found in the abdominal cavity is especially worrisome and must be taken seriously because this is the fat that will really increase your risk of diabetes, cancer, inflammation, as well as heart disease.

You can often tell if you have a high amount of visceral body fat as the stomach will appear to be fat, yet be hard to the touch.  The reason for this is because all that fat is lying underneath the muscle tissue, while subcutaneous lies on top of the muscle but just under the skin.

You will work to lose both types of body fat in the same manner – using a proper diet, a good workout program. 

Often you may not see the reduction in visceral fat like you would with subcutaneous fat but just know that if you are following your program it is happening and it's really putting you in a much more healthy state.

So never overlook the differences between body fat types again.  While both are definitely not something you want to be present on your body, you really must sit up and be concerned when visceral fat is coming into play.