Abdominal obesity refers to the presence of excess fat in the abdominal area.

The abdomen is the part of your body between your chest and your pelvis.

Those who are apple-shaped tend to store excess body fat around their stomach and abdomen.

A person measuring their belly or waist with a soft tape measure

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Abdominal obesity is often referred to as belly fat.

What Is Abdominal Obesity?

The terms sound very complicated, but they are simply different ways of describing belly fat.

If you carry too much fat around your belly, you have abdominal obesity.

So why does abdominal obesity matter?

How to Measure

There are different ways to measure and assess belly fat.

Abdominal obesity can be measured at the healthcare providers office.

There are easier ways to measure abdominal obesity.

Third, breathe in and then measure on the exhale.

The risk of heart disease and diabetes rises with measurement and is based on gender.

Now divide your waist size by your hip size to get your waist-to-hip ratio.

Can I Change It?

The best way to reduce abdominalobesityis to lose weight.

So you may lose weight in your legs or hips and still keep some belly fat.

But the weight reduction in your abdomen may help to improve your risk for heart disease.

Talk to your healthcare provider about how much weight you should lose to improve your health.

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