We can control how much fat we consume but where that consumed-fat goes in our body is mostly beyond our control; it may go under the skin (subcutaneous fat) or around vital organs such as the pancreas, liver, and kidney, etc. (visceral fat).
It is the visceral fat, and not subcutaneous fat, which causes most of the fat-related health problems such as diabetes, heart diseases, high blood pressure, etc.
The only definitive way to diagnose visceral fat is with a CT scan (X-ray) or MRI (imaging).
CT scans done on sumo wrestlers reveal that they don’t have much visceral fat and most of their fat is stored right underneath the skin.
Sumo wrestlers achieve this lack of visceral fat accumulation through a highly regimented life and intense workouts (e.g., training starts as early as 5 a.m. and can last for up to five hours straight).
During an exercise called butsukari-geiko, wrestlers take turns repeatedly hitting and pushing each other until they collapse to the floor from exhaustion.
While the fat-storage location (under the skin or around vital organs) depends upon genesPeople with a family history of rounder bellies & fuller hips tend to follow suit., sexMen tend to have more visceral fat, while women have more subcutaneous fat. and ageOlder adults tend to have higher levels of body fat overall, thanks to factors like a slowing metabolism and gradual loss of muscle tissue. And the extra fat is more likely to be visceral instead of subcutaneous., workout has been found to give us some control.
It is because when we exercise, a hormone called adiponectin is secreted in the body.
Adiponectin’sfunction is to regulate body fat and guide the fat in our blood to the right location – under the skin.
And like money attracts money, visceral fat attracts visceral fat.
This is because visceral fat inhibits adiponectin and this makes us lose control of where to send the consumed-fat and thus more visceral fat builds up.
That is what happens to sumo wrestlers when they grow old and can’t exercise; they, then, have to drastically cut calories or be at risk for cardiovascular disease.
This also explains why sumo wrestlers die an estimated 10 years younger than the average Japanese citizen.
