Losing Visceral Fat: Is "Spot Training" Possible?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the concept of "spot training" in relation to losing visceral fat, exploring whether specific lifestyle changes or dietary habits can influence the loss of different types of fat, particularly visceral versus subcutaneous fat. Participants examine the biological processes behind fat distribution and loss, as well as the impact of exercise and diet on these processes.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that "spot training" does not work because fat loss occurs evenly throughout the body, while others suggest that visceral fat may be lost before subcutaneous fat.
  • There is a proposal that different types of fat reserves, such as visceral and subcutaneous fat, may have different biological processes for accumulation and loss.
  • One participant emphasizes that body fat distribution is primarily influenced by hormonal factors.
  • Another participant references a study indicating that exercise intensity may play a significant role in the loss of visceral fat, suggesting that higher intensity exercise could lead to better outcomes.
  • Links to research articles are shared, which discuss the effects of caloric restriction and exercise on body composition and fat distribution.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the effectiveness of spot training and the relationship between diet, exercise, and fat distribution. There is no consensus on whether visceral fat is lost before subcutaneous fat or the role of exercise intensity in fat loss.

Contextual Notes

Some claims rely on assumptions about genetic influences on body composition and the effects of exercise intensity, which remain unresolved in the discussion.

junglebeast
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I've heard that "spot training" does not work because fat is lost evenly throughout the body.

However, apparently there are different types of fat reserves,

"Visceral fat, also known as organ fat or intra-abdominal fat, is located inside the peritoneal cavity, packed in between internal organs and torso, as opposed to subcutaneous fat which is found underneath the skin, and intramuscular fat which is found interspersed in skeletal muscle. "

Clearly some people have different ratios of obesity with regard to visceral fat or subcutaneous fat. Naturally it seems that the body must have a slightly different process of creating visceral fat vs subcutaneous fat and I'm curious what the difference is between these processes, and if certain lifestyle changes/diet/habit can be made to affect the loss of visceral vs subcutaneous fat...effectively allowing for "spot training" because visceral fat is located primarily in the abdomen
 
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I'm not sure what effect diet has on the location and ratio of different fat types, but I presume that your body composition is more likely to be determined by your genetic makeup and that your genes would probably have the biggest influence.

I don't believe that fat is lost evenly throughout your body; you loose the subcutaneous fat before you lose the fat which pads your organs, and the reverse happens when you gain weight. "Spot training" does not work purely because you are burning calories and using up your general subcutaneous fat store, as opposed to the fat store of one particular area.
 
no, visceral fat is the first to go. yes, spot training does not work. bodyfat distribution is mostly determined by your hormones.

if you really want to know about bodyfat, go search out Lyle McDonald's forum. he's about the biggest fat nerd out there.
 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/e...ez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

CONTEXT: There is debate over the independent and combined effects of dieting and increased physical activity on improving metabolic risk factors (body composition and fat distribution). OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to conduct a randomized, controlled trial (CALERIE) to test the effect of a 25% energy deficit by diet alone or diet plus exercise for 6 months on body composition and fat distribution. DESIGN: This was a randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: The study was conducted at an institutional research center. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-five of 36 overweight but otherwise healthy participants (16 males, 19 females) completed the study. INTERVENTION: Participants were randomized to either control (healthy weight maintenance diet, n = 11), caloric restriction (CR; 25% reduction in energy intake, n = 12), or caloric restriction plus exercise (CR+EX; 12.5% reduction in energy intake + 12.5% increase in exercise energy expenditure, n = 12) for 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and changes in abdominal fat distribution by multislice computed tomography were measured. Results: The calculated energy deficit across the intervention was not different between CR and CR+EX. Participants lost approximately 10% of body weight (CR: - 8.3 +/- 0.8, CR+EX: - 8.1 +/- 0.8 kg, P = 1.00), approximately 24% of fat mass (CR: - 5.8 +/- 0.6, CR+EX: - 6.4 +/- 0.6 kg, P = 0.99), and 27% of abdominal visceral fat (CR: 0.9 +/- 0.2, CR+EX: 0.8 +/- 0.2 kg, P = 1.00). Both whole-body and abdominal fat distribution were not altered by the intervention. CONCLUSION: Exercise plays an equivalent role to CR in terms of energy balance; however, it can also improve aerobic fitness, which has other important cardiovascular and metabolic implications.
 
Xnn said:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/e...ez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

that's interesting. also in the article:

Participants in the CR+EX group self-selected their level of exercise intensity throughout the study because we believed compliance to the intervention would be enhanced with this strategy. Exercise intensity has been shown to influence body composition and cardiovascular and other metabolic outcomes in a dose-response manner (25, 32). Studies of exercise-induced weight loss suggest that high intensity exercise (65–80% maximal oxygen uptake) leads to greater improvements in visceral fat loss, insulin sensitivity, and lipoprotein profiles than moderate (40–55% maximal oxygen uptake) or low intensities. It might be argued that our approach may underestimate the role of exercise in the CR+EX intervention. Alternatively it could be argued that differences in body composition changes between these kinds of treatments are dependent on the resultant energy expenditure and energy deficit created by higher intensity exercise, rather than the exercise intensity itself (33, 34).

so it seems that intensity is the key here, which i did not remember.