腹部脂肪與較高的過早死亡風險有關，無論您的體重如何

: By 麗貝卡·鄧貝爾（Rebecca Dumbell）

感謝造訪 InnerSelf.com，哪裡有 20,000+ 宣傳“新態度和新可能性”的改變生活的文章。所有文章均翻譯為 超過30種語言. 訂閱每週出版的《內在自我》雜誌和瑪麗·T·拉塞爾的《每日靈感》。 InnerSelf雜誌 自 1985 年起出版。

蘋果形的人將更多的脂肪存儲在腹部，而梨形的人將其存儲在下半身。 紅色機密/ Shutterstock

眾所周知，腰部多餘的脂肪會危害您的健康，從而增加患上以下疾病的風險：輸入2型糖尿病和心髒病。但是最近的一項研究研究發現，無論體重多高，腹部脂肪攜帶量增加的人死於早亡的風險都更高–實際上，每增加11cm的腰圍，隨訪期間的死亡人數就會增加10％。

The researchers included 72 studies in their review, which contained data on 2.5 million people.研究人員在其綜述中納入了XNUMX項研究，其中包含XNUMX萬人的數據。 They then analysed the combined data on body shape measures, looking at waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-thigh ratio, and waist and thigh circumference – in other words, all the areas where a person naturally stores fat.然後，他們分析了有關體形測量的組合數據，查看了腰臀比，腰臀比以及腰圍和大腿圍-換句話說，一個人自然存儲脂肪的所有區域。

Beside the finding on belly fat, the researchers also found that people who tend to store more fat on the hips and thighs – instead of their abdomen – had a lower risk of dying sooner, with each extra 5cm thigh circumference associated with an 18% reduced risk of death during the follow-up period (between 3-24 years, depending on the study).除了發現腹部脂肪外，研究人員還發現，傾向於在臀部和大腿上而不是腹部上儲存更多脂肪的人死亡的風險較低，大腿圍每增加XNUMX厘米，則死亡率降低XNUMX％。隨訪期間（XNUMX-XNUMX年之間，取決於研究）死亡風險。 But why might this be the case?但是為什麼會這樣呢？ The answer has to do with the type of fat tissue we tend to store in certain areas of our body.答案與我們傾向於儲存在人體某些部位的脂肪組織的類型有關。

Body fat (known as adipose tissue) plays an important role in our physiology.體脂（稱為脂肪組織）在我們的生理中起著重要作用。 Its main purpose is to take glucose from the blood and safely其主要目的是從血液中安全攝取葡萄糖儲存能量為脂質 inside our fat cells, which our body uses later for fuel.在我們的脂肪細胞中，我們的身體以後將其用作燃料。 Our fat cells also produce我們的脂肪細胞也會產生激素信號 that influence many body processes, including appetite.影響許多身體過程，包括食慾。 Adipose tissue is therefore important for good metabolic health.因此，脂肪組織對於良好的代謝健康很重要。

But having too little adipose tissue can affect how well blood sugar levels are regulated in the body.但是，脂肪組織過少會影響人體對血糖水平的調節。 Insulin regulates healthy blood sugar levels, telling fat cells to take up glucose from the blood and store it for later.胰島素調節健康的血糖水平，告訴脂肪細胞吸收血液中的葡萄糖並將其存儲以備後用。 Without enough adipose tissue (a condition known as沒有足夠的脂肪組織（這種情況稱為脂肪營養不良），此過程無法正常進行-導致胰島素抵抗，這可能導致糖尿病。

Although fat is important for good metabolic health, where we store it (and the kind of fat tissue it is) can have different health consequences.儘管脂肪對於良好的代謝健康很重要，但是我們在其中儲存脂肪（及其脂肪組織的種類）可能會產生不同的健康後果。 Research shows that people with the same height and weight, but who store their fat in different places have研究表明，身高和體重相同但在不同地方儲存脂肪的人不同的風險發展某些代謝性疾病如 2型糖尿病和心血管疾病.

內臟與皮下

Body shape is influenced by where fat is stored in our body.身體形狀受體內脂肪存儲位置的影響。 For example, “apple shaped” people store more fat around their waist and are likely to例如，“蘋果形”人的腰部儲存更多脂肪，並且很可能會儲存更多脂肪在器官周圍的身體裡內臟脂肪。 “梨形”的人的大腿較大，並且在皮膚下方均勻分佈更多的脂肪。皮下脂肪.

這些不同的脂肪倉庫有不同的生理特性和表達不同的基因。 It's thought that different visceral and subcutaneous fat depots develop from認為不同的內臟和皮下脂肪庫不同的前體細胞 –可以變成脂肪細胞的細胞。

內臟脂肪被認為更多胰島素抵抗，因此罹患2型糖尿病的風險更高。 Body fat stored around the waist also releases more blood triglycerides in response to腰部存儲的身體脂肪還可以釋放更多的血液甘油三酸酯壓力激素信號 compared to hip and thigh fat.比起臀部和大腿的脂肪。 High blood trigylceride levels are associated with greater risk of血液甘油三酸酯水平高與罹患高甘油三酸酯的風險有關心臟疾病。 This is partly why visceral fat is seen as as more harmful than subcutaneous fat.這就是為什麼內臟脂肪比皮下脂肪更具危害性的部分原因。

內臟脂肪可能有害。 Yekatseryna Netuk / Shutterstock

另一方面，臀部和大腿皮下脂肪可以更好吸收這些甘油三酸酯從血液中安全地儲存它們，以防止身體將它們錯誤地儲存在肌肉或肝臟中，這可能會導致肝病。 Subcutaneous fat tissue can even develop specialised皮下脂肪組織甚至可以發育 “米色”脂肪細胞 that are able to burn fat.能夠燃燒脂肪。 For these reasons, subcutaneous fat is thought of as safer – even protective against metabolic disease.由於這些原因，皮下脂肪被認為更安全-甚至可以抵抗代謝性疾病。

It's thought that in some people subcutaneous fat stores run out of storage space (or the ability to make new fat cells) sooner than in others.人們認為，在某些人中，皮下脂肪存儲比其他人更快地用完了存儲空間（或製造新脂肪細胞的能力）。 This means more fat will be stored in the less safe visceral depots.這意味著更多的脂肪將被儲存在不太安全的內臟倉庫中。 Visceral fat can cause內臟脂肪會引起炎，最終導致代謝和心血管疾病。 And if fat can no longer be stored in adipose tissue, eventually lipid can accumulate elsewhere – including the heart, muscles, and liver – which again can而且，如果不再能夠將脂肪存儲在脂肪組織中，那麼最終脂質會積聚在其他地方，包括心臟，肌肉和肝臟，這又可以導致疾病.

與身高一樣，您的基因在體重和身體形態中起著很大的作用。大型遺傳學研究已經確定了400多個最小的基因組差異 that might contribute to body-fat distribution.可能有助於人體脂肪的分配。 For example, people who have a mutation in the LRP5 gene carry例如，LRPXNUMX基因突變的人攜帶腹部脂肪更多 and less in their lower body.而在他們的下半身更少。 However, these tiny genetic differences are common in the population, affecting most of us in one way or another – and may explain why humans have such a range of different body shapes.但是，這些微小的遺傳差異在人群中很普遍，以一種或另一種方式影響著我們大多數人，這也許可以解釋為什麼人類具有如此多種不同的身體形態。

Unfortunately, this means that it might be more difficult for a person who naturally stores fat around their waist to maintain good health.不幸的是，這意味著對於自然地將脂肪儲存在腰間的人來說，保持良好的健康可能會更加困難。 But research also shows that weight loss can reduce visceral fat and improve但是研究還表明，減肥可以減少內臟脂肪並改善代謝健康。 So what is important to remember is that body shape is only a risk factor, and even with these differences you can still lower your risk of chronic disease if you maintain a healthy lifestyle.因此，要記住的重要一點是，身體形狀只是一個危險因素，即使有這些差異，但如果您保持健康的生活方式，仍然可以降低患慢性病的風險。