How to Lose Belly Fat

Researchers assigned roughly 150 overweight, sedentary, middle-aged men and women with high LDL (“bad”) or low HDL (“good”) cholesterol to aerobic training, strength training, or both.

The aerobic training meant doing the equivalent of about 12 miles a week at a vigorous pace on treadmills, elliptical trainers, or stationary bicycles. For strength training, participants did three sets of each of eight exercises, with eight to 12 repetitions per set, three days a week.

After eight months, those who did just strength training lost only subcutaneous (below-the-skin) abdominal fat. In contrast, those who did aerobic training—with or without strength training—lost deep belly fat, subcutaneous belly fat, and fat from around the liver.

What’s more, they were less insulin resistant—that is, their insulin was more effective at admitting blood sugar into their cells.

What to do: Try to combine aerobic exercise (to lose the most fat and curb insulin resistance) with strength training (to minimize the loss of muscle that occurs as you age).

Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 2011, doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00291.2011.

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This article was originally published in the November 2010 issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter. Subscribe to Nutrition Action Healthletter.