Uggggg. I'm still in the healthy range, but man, this and my hip area, have been the hardest parts to see results in the past 45 days.

Whenever I gain weight, that's right where it goes - my middle. I run interval sprints about six days a week, and it really has begun to help create a difference. I'll never have a six-pack, though. It's just not my body type.

I think you should emphasize BMI for determining what is healthy as long with life style eating habits. Every girl gets bulge when you pass a menstrual cycle.

I still don't think that having belly fat makes you at a higher risk for cancer.. but other than that, i knew everything else... and i still have belly fat and always will because I have digestive problems/intestinal problems... and I'm on the pill and almost always bloated... yey!

35 inches are more than twice as likely to die of heart disease than women whose middles measure less than 28 inches.

No kidding - for real? TWICE as likely? scary!

Seeing all these new finding makes me even more thrilled to get older. The only place that I do gain weight or show it is my belly. I have to work my ass off to see any results in my belly. It doesn't just fall off like many articles I've read have said.

Nice picture! With the sweatpit and all

I'M A WINNER! haha

Bleurgh the picture makes me feel ill...

Anyway, I got all the questions right, none of this came as any surprise to me. I do get belly fat, but not huge amounts, my waist is under 35 inches (by a long way) so no cause for concern for me.

Soypop- while BMI is useful, it does not distinguish fat and muscle so it is limited in its usefulness, measures of waist circumference, waist to hip ratio etc....tell us about central obesity, which, as this article states, is a risk factor for various diseases. Furthermore, while people get bloated during their period they are aware of this...so obviously measurements during this time are not 'normal' for them...furthermore, just because you are on your period, you don't suddenly gain a load of fat on your stomach.

LeRomantique- I think central obesity is associated with cancer because of the crappy diets and lifestyles fat people tend to have, rather than it being brought on solely by obesity...

Amybdk-twice the risk sounds dramatic but in actual numbers it's likely not to be a great increase. There was an interesting article on the BBC website recently about this, illustrating the minute increases in risk that dramatic sounding statements such as "double the risk" imply.

Spot who has just written an epidemiology essay, lol.

What foods contain trans fats? This is a problem I have been having...I recently lost a large amount of weight but cant whittle that middle....I have been doing cardio and trying to eat lots of healthy fats like eggs, avocado, milk, etc...It has diminished but there is still an area I cant kick. I feel like i shouldnt have to lose much more because of how far I have come but it wont go away!!!

What foods contain trans fats? This is a problem I have been having...I recently lost a large amount of weight but cant whittle that middle....I have been doing cardio and trying to eat lots of healthy fats like eggs, avocado, milk, etc...It has diminished but there is still an area I cant kick. I feel like i shouldnt have to lose much more because of how far I have come but it wont go away!!!

I'm wondering how much the likelihood increase from say, 32 inches to 35 inches. I'm guessing it gradually goes up with each additional inch.

Anyway, I've always been lucky to not have a lot of belly fat. It's the easiest place for me to lose weight from and the last place I gain. Now, if only I could lose from my thighs!

Hollywoodjess, here's how you can tell -- look at the ingredient label. Any time you see the words "partially hydrogenated ____ oil" (it usually is soybean oil, but can be other kinds, too), that's trans fat. Don't rely on the label, because some say "0 grams trans fat," and you can look on the ingredient list of those products and you'll see see that type of oil is actually used in it. Companies don't have to denote anything below 1 gram of trans fat per serving.

5/5 -- but too bad that doesn't make me ab flab free!

I understand that doing nothing but crunches isn't the most efficient method for losing belly fat, but you're still burning calories so that has to count for something, right?

I'm 5/5, too.

I'm pretty lean in the abs area. There's definition (and some softness that I deliberated added. I want to look like a woman in that area, not a man. ). I must confess I think my abs is one of my favorite areas on my body. Hubbie loves it, too.

5/5 but I've still got at least 6-7% body fat to drop. Workin on it though!

4/5 I do have a bit of the flab but I'm working out regularly and changing my diet. I am updating my blog from here to July which is when I should reach my goal. exciting!

I have too much...but I'm working on getting rid of it. Its sooo hard!

got the puch going. -sigh- that's what not being able to work out, eating poorly and gaining weight causes. must get back to the gym!!

At 46 and after 3 children, I have that apple shape, a heavy chest, belly fat and pouch. I'm obese according to BMI standards and YET I'm seeing a doctor because I'm only eating salads and raw veggies, exercising 5 days a week and have not lost 1 pound!

Please don't assume that everyone who looks like that photo (I do, a little) is binging on fast food and slurping down Cokes by the gallon. Obesity is complex.

hydrogenated oils, huh? i'm pretty sure mine's from beer

I am sorry but I find it really offensive that you use a picture of a headless large woman which is supposed to repulse people and guilt them into working out more. That's not cool. It's very disrespectful. Would you post a picture of a headless Mexican when writing about the swine flu?

LOL, Yum... How true this is!

Here! Here! Shebelle!

What an effing degrading and reductive image. Why don't you just make the headling:
"LOLZ TEH EYUKI FATZ'LL GET UUUU!!!"
Learn some tolerance.

5/5! I eat a good diet and my cholesterol/triglyceride levels are great, but my waist isn't as tiny as it probably should be because I'm short and my organs have to stay somewhere. I'm very short-waisted, but I'm also lean and I do have defined abs. I just wish my waist would be a little bit smaller so I'd have more of an hourglass figure instead of looking so straight-up-and-down.

5/5.. Luckily, I've never had any issues with belly fat. A healthy diet and good exercise keeps my figure looking great.

3/5 I have a bit of bellyfat and am trying to tone it down before July. But this is the part that gains fat first and loses it last

2/5 Woops... I've never had any problems with belly fat, luckily.

ah the bane of my existence. The ONLY place I gain weight is around my middle. I have small hips, small arms, legs, medium chest and a fat stomach. I'm WAY over the healthy limit, but even when I lost 25 lbs last year my waist BARELY went down, it's so frustrating!

5/5 - it is hard to lose the belly. 70 pounds gone and it was mostly lost from my thighs, butt and boobs. =/

5/5! Wow! I think this is the first quiz on which I've gotten 100%!

Ugh, I train 5 days a week and watch my weight but I just can't get rid of my pot belly, I was born into a family of apple shaped women - I have bordering on skinny thighs/arms and butt - every bit of spare flesh goes to my belly, I hate it.

5/5 =) and I've got the flat belly to prove it! I've never gained weight around my middle.. it just goes to my butt if I put on pounds.

Oh well.

Like laellavita, I just tend to gain any weight right in my belly.

I assume these guidelines refer to extreme cases of belly flab, because not everyone gains their weight in their legs and buns. It doesn't make "apple" shapes atomically more susceptible to cancer, etc.

Yes, it does.
(and this is documented)

The photo, but mostly the comments about the photo are really offensive to me. Don't kid yourselves into thinking you're better than a fat woman and don't assume you know what it's like. Anyone who has been that size before knows it didn't just happen because of eating a 'crappy diet'. There are a lot more things going on than just that,

Yeah, it happens from crappy diet + not exercising.

That woman in the photo must weight at least 300lbs. There's no excuse for reaching that size, it absolutely IS 100% due to bad eating and lack of exercise.

when i gain weight is go right to the middle. ugh i hate it.

It's nice to know that some people are apparently omniscient. You know NOTHING about that woman's lifestyle.

I got 5/5 on the quiz...seemed like common sense.

But I feel bad for those women who pile the weight straight on their waists.

I got up to a size 14 once and even then my waist never exceeded 28 inches and I'm 5'7.5 feet tall. I put the weight straight on my hips and breasts. S'pose that's a bonus, not that I plan on breakingo ut of my size 8 frame anytime soon.

to le romantique;

I know that for throat cancer, at least, belly fat gives you a higher risk. I've worked on the molecular signaling biology behind Barrett's esophagus, a type of cancer of the throat caused by acid reflux disease. Belly fat causes actual physical pressure on the internal workings of the upper digestive system, causing you to have more frequent,.and longer bouts, of heartburn. The acid in heartburn, over years, can lead to neoplastic (read: cancerous) growth in your distal esophagus.

Also, fat in general screws with your cancer risk. Your ratio of regulatory fatty hormones- right now, I'm thinking specifically of leptin and adiponectin- gets switched around, which can cause havoc with metabolic processes within your body, including the cell-to-cell instructions that over time can lead to cancerous growth.

@ hithatsmybike: oh, so should we assume that you, with your flat stomach, are anorexic? There are plenty of medical and genetic reasons why a person might have excess body fat - build and thyroid problems are just two examples. There are also numerous psychological reasons why a person may have a little (or a lot) of the dreaded "ab flab". You're not God - you don't know her - don't judge her. She's at a gym - she's trying to lose weight. Give her a break!

Build & thyroid problems don't make you 300lbs.

Ever.

It's one thing to be 10, 15, or even 20lbs overweight, but 150? No. You would have to have a very rare disorder to sustain that amount of body fat with daily exercise and healthy eating.

I don't find the truth offensive and the picture of the fat woman fit the content of the article. Obesity is unhealthy and unattractive. It's so pathetic so many adults want their precious little feelings to be protected from harsh realities

I don't find that photo offensive. If anything I'm happy that the headless lady is making the effort.