Visceral fat, also known as belly fat or muffin top, is fat that surrounds internal organs deep inside your torso while subcutaneous fat lies under the skin. Visceral fat is far more dangerous than subcutaneous fat and is linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer.; A new University of Alabama study finds that diet alone doesn’t do enough to banish visceral fat. It turns out that exercise is king when it comes to slimming the waistline.

The study followed three groups of women as they were placed on a low-calorie diet. One group did not exercise, the second did 80 minutes of cardio a week and the third group did 80 minutes of weight training a week. A year after the calorie constriction period, those from the exercising groups who continued to exercise gained no visceral fat, even if they regained some weight, while those who did not exercise gained an average of 33% more visceral fat. This is very interesting news to me, as I have always considered diet to be the main factor determining the waist size. Certainly cutting out refined sugars helps tame the tummy, but as it turns out to really get in there and burn away the sickness-causing visceral fat (gross), you’ve gotta put in the workout time! For full details on the study, visit: http://main.uab.edu/Sites/MediaRelations/articles/70473/