到底如何才能滅掉肥肚腩?大綱

If you think that belly fat is just an issue for people who are overweight, think again -- even people who are at a healthy weight and exercise regularly can have it. There's no such thing as a "perfect" body, so what's the big deal if your stomach isn't flat? It isn't just a problem of aesthetics.

如果你覺得大腹便便只是胖人的專利，那請君三思了——一些體重正常和經常鍛鍊的人都可能有小肚子，根本沒有所謂的“完美”身材。所以，如果你的腹部不太平，有啥大不了呢？這個嘛，不僅僅是美感問題。

There are two types of fat: visceral and subcutaneous. Visceral fat is the kind that lies far below the surface, surrounding your organs. Subcutaneous fat is just below the skin and can be easily grabbed. You can spot visceral fat via an MRI or CT scan, but there's a simple test for it at home: If you have a large waistline or you're apple-shaped, you likely have visceral belly fat.

脂肪分兩種：內臟脂肪和皮下脂肪。內臟脂肪指的是藏在體內，附在器官周圍的脂肪；皮下脂肪只是在表皮下方，可以輕易用手捏到。通過做磁共振或CT掃描可以找到內臟脂肪，當然自己在家也可做個簡單的測試：如果你腰圍較大，或者是蘋果狀體型，那腹部肥肉很可能就是內臟脂肪堆積所至。

While neither type of fat is good, visceral belly fat carries some serious health risks. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, you're at risk if you have a waistline greater than 40 inches if you're a man and 35 inches if you're a woman (a lower threshold of 35 inches for men and 31 inches for women has been recommended by the World Health Organization for people of Asian ethnicity). We aren't entirely sure why, but belly fat is linked to increased insulin resistance, which can result in type II diabetes. It can also lead to heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer, sleep apnea and premature bone density loss, and there's even evidence that it may be a factor in developing dementia.

兩種脂肪都不是好事，內臟脂肪堆積往往帶來一些嚴重的健康問題。美國衛生與公衆服務部指出，如果男性腰圍超過40英尺，女性腰圍超過35英尺（世衛組織建議亞洲人的門檻降低至男性35英尺，女性31英尺），身體健康就有風險。雖然我們不完全明白箇中緣由，但是腹部脂肪會關係到胰島素抵抗（insulin resistance）的增加，這可能導致II型糖尿病，也可能導致心臟疾病，中風，某些癌症，睡眠呼吸暫停症，以及過早的骨密度流失。甚至還有證據顯示，它可能是癡呆症的一個成因。

So what causes belly fat? Heredity is one factor. Belly fat has often been called "middle-aged spread" because as you age and your metabolism slows down, extra pounds tend to accumulate across the stomach. This is probably due to changes in levels of hormones such as cortisol, which is made in the adrenal glands and helps the body process glucose, regulate metabolism and manage stress. Speaking of stress, it can raise levels of cortisol, so it might lead to increased belly fat, too.

那腹部肥肉從何而來？遺傳是一個因素。肚腩經常被稱作“中年膘”，因爲當你歲數上來了，新城代謝減緩，多餘的肥肉就開始往肚子周圍累積，這很可能是因爲激素水平發生了變化，比如皮質醇的變化，它產生於腎上腺，幫助身體加工葡萄糖，調節新陳代謝和應對壓力。提到壓力，不得不說它會升高皮質醇水平，從而可能導致腹部脂肪的增加。

While it can be tough to do, there are ways to get rid of belly fat -- and not just plastic surgery -- but there's no magic pill. Read on for tips.

減腹雖然很難，但還是有些方法可以幫助消除腹部脂肪——不單單通過整容手術——當然，也不存在什麼神丹妙藥，下文提供一些小建議。

Blast That Belly

減腹消脂

Plastic surgery such as liposuction can remove subcutaneous fat but not visceral fat. Researchers in Brazil have discovered that if you have lipo to remove the former, your body could compensate with an increase in the latter unless you have a diet and exercise regimen going.

像抽脂手術可以除掉皮下脂肪，但對內臟脂肪無效。巴西的研究者發現，如果你用抽脂手術除掉前者（皮下脂肪），你的身體會增加後者（內臟脂肪）來進行補償，除非你開始節食和運動。

You can't do anything about aging or heredity, but if you have developed belly fat, you can still work to combat it. A lot of people think that exercises targeting the stomach area, such as sit-ups or crunches, are the way to go. These types of exercises tone and tighten muscles, but they can't do anything about fat. Instead, focus on losing fat overall via vigorous aerobic exercise -- preferably 30 minutes or more most days of the week. Start slow and build up. You don't have to run to get good cardio; brisk walking, dancing and bicycling all count, too. Strength training, meaning lifting weights, may also help get rid of visceral belly fat. Building muscle raises your metabolism so you can burn more calories. You might also consider incorporating core-strengthening exercises like planks.

我們對年紀和遺傳是無能爲力，但如果已經有了肚腩，你仍可以努力與之對抗的。很多人認爲訣計是進行鍼對腹部的運動，如仰臥起坐或卷腹。這類運動能拉伸和繃緊肌肉，卻對脂肪無能爲力；針對消除脂肪，一般要通過劇烈的有氧運動——儘量每天花30分鐘或更長時間。慢慢開始，循序漸進，不必一來就飈至強烈的有氧模式，像快走，跳舞和騎車也都是不錯的選擇。力量訓練，即舉重，也可能有助於消除內臟脂肪堆積的大腹便便。肌肉訓練會促進新城代謝，這樣可以燃燒掉更多的熱量。你還可考慮加入核心肌羣強化訓練，如平板支撐（plank）。

What you eat also makes a difference. To reduce belly fat, avoid foods that contain trans fats, a type of fat found in many prepackaged cookies, crackers and baked goods, as well as some fried fast foods. Not only can trans fats pack on the pounds, but research conducted at Wake Forest University has also shown that they can add fat specifically to your belly and even redistribute fat there from other areas of the body.

吃什麼也會有影響。爲了減少腹部脂肪，不要吃含反式脂肪的食物，很多包裝餅乾、糕點、烘焙食品及一些油炸的快餐都含有這一類脂肪，反式脂肪不僅會讓你增肥，據維克森林大學的研究顯示，它還專門往你的腹部脂肪添磚加瓦，甚至會將身體其他部位的脂肪“挪到”腹部。

Sugar also increases belly fat. Eat whole grains as well as lots of fruits and vegetables. Foods high in fiber not only keep you full longer but they also lower insulin levels and may shrink fat cells. A diet rich in healthy monounsaturated fats like olive oil, avocados, almonds and peanuts may also cause fat to break down. Your best beverage is always going to be water. It flushes out fat and keeps down bloat, and drinking lots of it keeps you from thinking you're hungry when you're actually thirsty.

糖分也會增加腹部脂肪。要吃五穀雜糧以及大量的水果和蔬菜。高纖維食品不僅讓你餓得慢，也能降低胰島素水平，縮減脂肪細胞。富含單不飽和脂肪酸的健康飲食，如橄欖油，牛油果，杏仁和花生，也可能讓脂肪分崩離析。水是最好的飲料，它能沖走脂肪，消除腫脹，大量喝水還可以讓你在口渴時不誤以爲是餓了。

The final key to losing belly fat is to de-stress. Easier said than done, right? One way to lower stress is to get enough sleep, ideally eight hours each night. Find ways to diffuse stressful situations -- through yoga, meditation or journaling.

減腹的最後一招是減壓。當然，說總比做容易，是吧？緩解壓力的一個途徑是充足睡眠，每晚睡八小時最理想。另外，爲壓力尋找一些釋放的出口——通過練瑜伽，冥思，或者寫日記的方式。

While there's no one way to lose belly fat, that's no reason to give up. It has nothing to do with how you look in a swimsuit and everything to do with staying healthy.

此肥無計可消除，勸君莫氣餒，泳衣誠重要，健康價更高！