Belly fat ‘most resistant to weight loss’ even when fasting, says study

BELLY fat is the most resistant to weight loss – even when fasting every other day, according to a new study.

With over two in five Brits classified as having a bigger gut than is healthy, many are hoping to cut calories as a way to drop dress or belt size.

But not all fat tissue is the same and the belly is the most resistant of all to budge, according to the new study.

Anything above a 94-102cm (37 to 40 inches) waist circumference is “high risk” for type 2 diabetes in men, while for women it is 80-88cm (31.5-35 inches).

The fat around the stomach goes into “preservation mode” when the body starts to lose weight, researchers from the University of Sydney discovered.

They discovered that during fasting, fat tissue provides energy to the rest of the body by releasing fatty acid molecules.

However, the fat becomes resistant to this release of fatty acids during fasting. People who try intermittent fasting may struggle more because belly fat is trained to rapidly rebuild the fat store before the next fasting period.

The research team examined more than 8,500 proteins located in fat deposits, creating a catalogue of changes that occurred during intermittent fasting, using a technique called proteomics.

Proteomics – the study of all proteins – a relatively new area of study that takes its name from genomics (the study of all genes), monitors how proteins react under certain conditions, which in this case is intermittent fasting.

The research team examined the data by using mice.

Dr Mark Larance, from the Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, said: “While most people would think that all fat tissue is the same, in fact, the location makes a big difference.”