研究发现，腹部脂肪与早逝有关

研究发现，腹部脂肪与早逝有关

It's more bad news for America's growing waistline: Excess belly fat is associated with a higher risk of early death, regardless of how much overall body fat you have, a new study finds.

一项新的研究发现，无论你体内有多少脂肪，腹部多余的脂肪都会增加早逝的风险。这对美国日益增长的腰围来说是个坏消息。

In women, each 10-centimeter increase in belly fat raised the risk of death from any cause by 8%. For men, each 10-centimeter increase in girth raised the risk of by 12%.

对女性而言，腹部脂肪每增加10厘米，因任何原因死亡的风险就会增加8%。对于男性来说，腰围每增加10厘米，风险就增加12%。

The better news: Larger hips and thighs are associated with a lower risk of early death, according to the study published by the The BMJ on Wednesday. That may be due to a protective effect that fat on those areas provide toward higher cholesterol and blood sugar levels, according to prior studies.

好消息是:根据周三发表在《英国医学杂志》上的研究，臀部和大腿较粗的人早逝的风险较低。根据之前的研究，这可能是由于这些区域的脂肪对高胆固醇和血糖水平的保护作用。

Those findings are a result of an analysis of 72 studies involving more than 2.5 million participants who were studied from three to 24 years.

这些发现是对72项研究的分析结果，涉及250多万参与者，研究时间从3年到24年。

The role of belly fat

腹部脂肪的作用

Most measurements of weight focus on the body mass index or BMI, which takes your weight in kilograms and divides it by the square of your height in meters. (there are online tools you can use to calculate your BMI).

大多数测量体重的方法都是身体质量指数(BMI)，即用你的体重(公斤)除以你身高(米)的平方。(你可以使用在线工具来计算你的BMI)。

If your BMI is less than 18.5, you're considered underweight. Your weight is considered normal if your BMI falls between 18.5 and 24.9. You are deemed overweight when your BMI is between 25 and 29.9 -- over 30 BMI indicates you are obese.

如果你的BMI小于18.5，你就被认为体重不足。如果你的BMI在18.5到24.9之间，那么你的体重就是正常的。当你的BMI在25到29.9之间时，你就被认为超重——超过30就意味着你肥胖。

But critics point out that BMI doesn't give an indication of where the fat resides. That's a problem because existing evidence suggests more fat around the middle -- and abdominal fat often known as "beer bellies" in men-- are more associated with chronic disease than an overall rating of obesity.

但批评人士指出，BMI并不能说明脂肪在哪里。这是个问题，因为现有证据表明，与肥胖的总体评分相比，中腹部脂肪(在男性中通常被称为“啤酒肚”)与慢性疾病的关联更大。

Here's why the fat around the middle is so dangerous. Too much belly fat points to a buildup of a unique type of fat, called visceral fat, around various internal organs, such as the liver, pancreas and intestines.

这就是为什么中部的脂肪是如此危险。腹部脂肪过多意味着一种特殊类型的脂肪堆积，称为内脏脂肪，分布在各种内脏器官周围，如肝脏、胰腺和肠道。

Visceral fat is called 'active fat' because it affects hormone function by secreting a protein that leads to an increased resistance to insulin, thus setting us up for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, excess cholesterol, heart disease, some cancers and Alzheimer's disease.

内脏脂肪被称为“活性脂肪”，因为它通过分泌一种蛋白质来影响激素的功能，这种蛋白质会增加对胰岛素的抵抗，从而导致我们患上2型糖尿病、高血压、胆固醇过高、心脏病、某些癌症和阿尔茨海默氏症。

Visceral fat is different from the pinchable fat we see in our arms, legs, thighs and "love handles" on the hips. That's called subcutaneous fat, which doesn't affect hormones.

内脏脂肪不同于我们在胳膊、腿、大腿和臀部的“腰间赘肉”上看到的可捏住的脂肪。这就是所谓的皮下脂肪，它不会影响荷尔蒙。

Besides eating too much and exercising too little, just why does belly fat occur? Scientists think cortisol, the stress hormone, may play a role -- cortisol increases insulin resistance, which adds to fat deposits.

除了吃得太多锻炼得太少，为什么会出现腹部脂肪呢?科学家认为，压力荷尔蒙皮质醇可能起了作用——皮质醇增加了对胰岛素的抵抗，增加了脂肪的堆积。

Do you have excess belly fat?

你有多余的腹部脂肪吗?

To tell if you have potentially dangerous abdominal fat, take out a soft tape measure. Then, while standing straight with a relaxed stomach (no sucking in allowed), measure your tummy a few inches above your hips.

要知道你是否有潜在的危险的腹部脂肪，拿出一个软卷尺测量。然后，放松地站直(不允许吸气)，在臀部上方几英寸处测量你的腹部。

Are you in belly fat danger? For women, the key figure is thought to be 35 or more inches (89 centimeters) around the stomach, for men it's 40 inches (102 centimeters).

你有腹部肥胖的危险吗?对于女性来说，关键的数字是腹部周围35英寸(89厘米)以上，而男性是40英寸(102厘米)以上。

What to do?

要做什么吗?

Doing crunches isn't going to melt visceral fat; that will only tone your abs.

做仰卧起坐不会融化内脏脂肪;这只会增强你的腹肌。

Diet and exercise, however, seem to be better at tackling visceral fat than subcutaneous fat.

然而，饮食和运动似乎更能解决内脏脂肪而不是皮下脂肪。

You need to make sure you have more calories going out than calories in to make that happen -- by either limiting your calorie intake or exercising more:

要做到这一点，你需要确保你消耗的卡路里比摄入的卡路里要多——你可以通过限制卡路里摄入或者多锻炼:

• Focus on a plant-based diet full of fresh or frozen veggies and fruits

多吃植物性饮食，新鲜或冷冻的蔬菜和水果

• Choose low-fat dairy products

选择低脂乳制品

• Eat only whole grains -- not processed cereals, breads, muffins and the like

只吃全谷物——不要吃加工过的谷物、面包、松饼等

• Cut back on sugar -- avoid processed cakes, cookies and sugar-sweetened beverages

减少糖的摄入——避免加工过的蛋糕、饼干和含糖饮料

• Watch your portion sizes (Tip: use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate)

注意你的食物分量(小提示:用沙拉盘代替餐盘)

• Add muscle strengthening and weight training to your routine. Muscle burns more calories than fat

在日常生活中增加肌肉强化和重量训练。肌肉比脂肪燃烧更多的卡路里

• Jump start exercise by doing moderate aerobics, such as brisk walking, for at least 150 minutes a week or vigorous aerobic activity, such as running, fast biking, swimming or team sports, for at least 75 minutes a week

• 从中等强度的有氧运动开始，比如每周至少150分钟的快走，或者剧烈的有氧运动，比如跑步、快速骑车、游泳或团队运动，每周至少75分钟