Visceral Fat Measurement : Find Out How Much Fat You Carry

Everyone knows that fat is one of the hardest things to get rid of. But, have you checked your visceral fat measurement lately? Visceral fat is different from subcutaneous fat and is very much harder to reduce. It is also a known factor that causes many serious health conditions; making it a more hazardous fat as well.

Because this fat surrounds the organs and is located internally, the most effective way to obtain a precise measurement of visceral fat in your body is by using an imaging machine. Of course, this is often done by a doctor and is often recommended for people who are suffering high cholesterol levels and diabetes.

Since most of the organs are located in the center of the body, most visceral fat is found in the abdomen. This is why it is not uncommon to find people who have perfectly normal weight to have high visceral fat measurement readings.

No doubt the fat around your abdomen or the middle section of your body is the hidden dangerous visceral fat. Do you know that you can actually take a simple visceral fat measurement of your body just to know how much of that fat you are currently carrying without expensive machines? Visceral fat is a fat that will stay the same rounded shape around your body whether you are sitting, lying down or even standing up.

Unlike ordinary fat, visceral fat does not fall to the sides when you are lying down. As such, if it was only ordinary fat, the front to back dimension will tend to decrease significantly if you stay at the same lying down position. With the difference in the characteristics of both ordinary fat and visceral fat, there comes an easy way in which you can actually measure it. Here’s how you can do it.

Visceral Fat Measurement

Visceral fat measurement is easy and you can measure it right at the comfort of your own home.

Due to the texture of this fat being so strong, there is a way to determine how much visceral fat you may have. Regular fat is soft and tends to move with the positions of the body. If you lay down it will flatten and when you stand it will maintain level until the next movement. This is not the case with visceral fat, so it makes it a bit easier to measure the severity before seeing a doctor about the issue.

First off, since the texture of visceral fat is extremely hard, it’s important to take a reference measurement. All you need to do is to measure the comparison between the positions while you are standing up and again while you are lying down. Do not hold your tummy.

First stand against a wall and lie something that is flat across your tummy such as a cardboard or plastic board so as to make it as a point of reference. Then take a straight ruler and measure yourself right from the back to the front that is, the length from the wall to the cardboard. Note the length down and this time lay down on the floor. Repeat the steps again and note the length from the floor to the cardboard.

If the measurement of the depth of your tummy does not change at all or with only a very little change between these two positions, then there is a high likelihood that you are carrying a fair amount of visceral fat in your body.

However, finding out the exact measurement of visceral fat will require special devices that can only be performed by your doctor or a medical practitioner. Now that you’ve been informed, it’s time to take good care of yourself. Make sure to ask your doctor about a visceral fat measurement as it can save your life.

Let’s now examine each and every one of the other visceral fat measurement methods available today. They are; CT scan, bio-electrical impedance and waist to hip ratio.

Measure Visceral Fat with CT Scan

CT scan offers the most accurate measurement of the amount of visceral fat in the body. However, CT scan is not practical as the scan can be rather expensive. In addition to that, patients are also exposed to radiation thereby posing unnecessary risks to health.

Measuring Under Bio-electrical Impedance

Bio-electrical impedance offers another method that can accurately measure the amount of visceral fat present in the body. Bio-electrical impedance works by transmitting a small electrical current through the body and analyze the electrical resistance involved.

As there is a difference in electrical resistance between different types of tissue in the body such as lean and fat, it is possible to accurately predict the amount of fat within the body. Although bio-electrical impedance measurement is accurate and safe without any radiation involved, it could still cost a couple hundreds of dollars for a use at home model.

Waist to Hip Ratio Measurement

Waist to hip ratio is one of the easiest methods of visceral fat measurement. Although the result is not as accurate as CT scan or bio-electrical impedance, it is nevertheless also one of the most practical approaches to measure visceral fat. Waist to hip ratio works by measuring the waist circumference and then divides by the hip circumference. By obtaining this figure, one can estimate the amount of visceral fat that is present.

Generally, a value greater than 1.0 for men and 0.85 for women indicates a fair amount of visceral fat in the body. You should take consideration to lose visceral fat if the value of your measurement looks rather gloomy.

It would be best to take action now before it is too late because excessive visceral fat in the body can cause the liver to release harmful cholesterol resulting in plague around the arteries. Read also about visceral fat exercise too.