你的腰圍透露著關(guān)于你健康的什么信息？讓我們來了解一下為什么更年期之后容易堆積腹部脂肪，這將帶來什么危害以及如何應(yīng)對。

By Mayo Clinic staff

作者：Mayo Clinic staff

An expanding waistline is sometimes considered the price of getting older. For women, this might be especially true after menopause, when body fat tends to shift from the arms, legs and hips to the abdomen. Yet an increase in belly fat can do more than make it hard to zip up your jeans. Research indicates that belly fat also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers — even premature death. The good news? The threats posed by belly fat can be cut down to size.

腰圍變粗是年齡增長的一個代價。對于更年期之后的女性而言更為普遍，她們的脂肪從手臂、腿部、臀部逐漸游移到小腹上。當(dāng)然腹部脂肪的增加并不僅僅導(dǎo)致難以拉上牛仔褲的拉鏈。研究表明腹部脂肪的囤積還會增加心血管病、糖尿病以及某些癌癥的發(fā)病率---甚至導(dǎo)致過早死亡。好消息呢？這些由腹部脂肪導(dǎo)致的威脅是可以被降低的。

What's behind belly fat

腹部脂肪背后的真相

Your weight is largely determined by how you balance the calories you eat with the energy you burn. If you eat too much and exercise too little, you're likely to pack on excess pounds — including belly fat. However, aging also plays a role. Muscle mass gradually diminishes with age, and fat accounts for a greater percentage of your weight. Less muscle mass also decreases the rate at which your body uses calories, which can make it more challenging to maintain a healthy weight or lose excess pounds.

攝入的熱量和消耗的能量之間的平衡主要決定了你身體重量的增加或減少。如果你吃的非常多，運(yùn)動非常少，你就很容易增肥----包括增加腹部脂肪。不過，年齡也起到一定作用。隨著年齡的增長，肌肉開始逐漸萎縮，脂肪開始占據(jù)你體重的很大比重。減少的肌肉也會降低你的身體消耗熱量的速率，這令你保持健康的體重或者減去多余的脂肪變得更具挑戰(zhàn)性。
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In addition, many women notice an increase in belly fat as they get older — even if they aren't gaining weight. This is likely due to a decreasing level of estrogen, which appears to influence where fat is distributed in the body. The tendency to gain or carry weight around the waist — have an "apple" rather than a "pear" shape — can have a genetic component as well.

此外，一些女性會注意到隨著年齡的增長，她們的腹部開始囤積脂肪---即使她們并沒有增加體重。這可能是雌性激素減少所導(dǎo)致的，因?yàn)榇菩约に赜绊懼驹谏眢w里的分布。腰部變粗的趨勢---變成“蘋果形”而不是“梨形”---也受到遺傳基因的影響。

Why belly fat is more than skin deep

為什么腹部脂肪深埋于皮膚之下

The trouble with belly fat is that it's not limited to the extra layer of padding located just below the skin (subcutaneous fat). It also includes visceral fat — which lies deep inside your abdomen, surrounding your internal organs.

比較麻煩的一點(diǎn)是腹部脂肪并不僅僅存在于表皮之下（皮下脂肪）。它還包括內(nèi)臟脂肪---深埋在皮膚之下，包裹著你的內(nèi)臟。

Although subcutaneous fat poses cosmetic concerns, visceral fat is associated with far more dangerous health consequences. That's because an excessive amount of visceral fat produces hormones and other substances that can raise blood pressure, negatively alter good and bad cholesterol levels and impair the body's ability to use insulin (insulin resistance). An excessive amount of any fat, including visceral fat, also boosts estrogen levels. All of this can increase the risk of serious health problems, including:

不過皮下脂肪帶來的是關(guān)于化妝品之類的問題，而內(nèi)臟脂肪會導(dǎo)致更危險的健康問題。因?yàn)榇罅康膬?nèi)臟脂肪會生成增加血壓的激素以及其他物質(zhì)，使好膽固醇和壞膽固醇的水平發(fā)生消極改變，降低身體對胰島素的使用能力（胰島素抵抗）。任何脂肪的增加，包括內(nèi)臟脂肪，還會促進(jìn)雌激素的增加。這些都可以提高發(fā)生許多嚴(yán)重的健康問題的風(fēng)險，包括：
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    Cardiovascular disease

    Stroke

    Type 2 diabetes

    Breast cancer

    Colorectal cancer

.心血管疾病

.中風(fēng)

.Ⅱ型糖尿病2

.乳腺癌

.結(jié)腸癌

Recent research also has associated belly fat with an increased risk of premature death — regardless of overall weight. In fact, some studies have found that even when women were considered a normal weight based on standard body mass index (BMI) measurements, a large waistline increased the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease, cancer and other causes. 

最近的研究還表明，不考慮過度肥胖，腹部肥胖與過早死亡也有關(guān)聯(lián)。事實(shí)上，一些研究發(fā)現(xiàn)即使女性的體重根據(jù)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)體重指數(shù)是正常的，但腰圍過粗依然增加了患上心血管疾病、癌癥以及其他疾病的可能性。

Measuring your middle

測量你的腰圍

So how do you know if you have too much belly fat? Simply measure your waist:

那么該如何確認(rèn)你是否囤積了過度的腹部脂肪？簡單的辦法就是量一量腰圍：

    Place a tape measure around your bare stomach, just above your hipbone.

    Pull the tape measure until it fits snugly around you, but doesn't push into your skin.

    Make sure the tape measure is level all the way around.

    Relax, exhale and measure your waist, resisting the urge to suck in your stomach.

.袒露出你的肚子，用卷尺在胯骨之上環(huán)繞一圈。

.讓卷尺密切貼著你的身體，但不要壓入皮膚。

.確保卷尺水平。

.放松，呼氣，不要刻意收腹，記錄測量數(shù)值。

For women, a waist measurement of 35 inches (89 centimeters) or more indicates an unhealthy concentration of belly fat and a greater risk of problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. For men, a waist measurement of 40 inches (102 centimeters) or more is considered cause for concern.

對于女性，腰圍在35英寸（89厘米）或者更多時，就表明是不健康的囤積了腹部脂肪，心臟病，高血壓以及Ⅱ型糖尿病的發(fā)病率就會因此增加。對于男性，腰圍在40英寸（102厘米）或者更多時需要格外注意。

Trimming the fat

控制脂肪

You can tone abdominal muscles with crunches or other targeted abdominal exercises, but these exercises won't get rid of belly fat. Fortunately, however, visceral fat responds to the same diet and exercise strategies that can help you shed excess pounds and lower your total body fat. To fight back the bulge, stick to the basics:

可以通過仰臥起坐或者其他針對性的鍛煉來加強(qiáng)腹部肌肉，但是這些不會使你減少腹部脂肪。幸運(yùn)的是，特定的飲食和運(yùn)動策略對此有效，它可以幫助你減少多余的體重，降低身體的脂肪含量。為了反擊凸起的腹部，你要謹(jǐn)遵以下步驟：

    Eat a healthy diet. Emphasize plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and choose lean sources of protein and low-fat dairy products. Limit saturated fat, found in meat and high-fat dairy products, such as cheese and butter. Choose moderate amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — found in fish, nuts and certain vegetable oils — instead.

健康飲食。尤其以素食為主，例如水果、蔬菜以及所有的谷物，精藝蛋白質(zhì)，低脂乳制品。減少存在于肉類以及高脂肪乳制品，例如芝士和黃油中的飽和脂肪酸的攝入。選擇含有適量單一不飽和脂肪和多聚不飽和脂肪的食物---如魚肉、堅果以及一些蔬菜油--來取代。

    Keep portion sizes in check. Even when you're making healthy choices, calories add up. At home, slim down your portion sizes. In restaurants, share meals — or eat half your meal and take the rest home for another day.

注意檢查攝入量。即使你選擇了健康的食物，熱量還是會累加的。在家里，減少你的食量。在餐廳，與其他人共食---或者只吃自己餐盤中的一半食物，把其余的帶回家第二天再吃。
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    Include physical activity in your daily routine. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, for at least 150 minutes a week or vigorous aerobic activity, such as jogging, for at least 75 minutes a week. In addition, strength training exercises are recommended at least twice a week. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more.

在日?；顒又性黾渝憻?/span>。衛(wèi)生與公共服務(wù)部建議大部分健康的成年人要進(jìn)行適度的有氧運(yùn)動。例如每周至少150分鐘的快步行走，或者劇烈一些的有氧運(yùn)動，比如每周至少75分鐘的慢跑。此外，每周最好進(jìn)行兩次以上的力量訓(xùn)練的練習(xí)。如果你想要減少重量或者達(dá)到特定的健身目標(biāo)，你還需要除此之外的更多練習(xí)。

To lose excess fat and keep it from coming back, aim for slow and steady weight loss — up to 2 pounds (1 kilogram) a week. Consult your doctor for help getting started and staying on track. Your patience and effort will pay off in a lifetime of better health.

減去多余脂肪并保證不再反彈，循序漸進(jìn)的減重---每周減少2磅（1公斤）。向你的醫(yī)生咨詢?nèi)绾伍_始和進(jìn)行減肥計劃。你的恒心和努力會為你贏得一生的健康體魄。