Thursday, January 03, 2008
Belly Dancing, Belly Dance or Belly Dancer
Actually, I am not blogging about belly dancing,dancer,dance or even belly fat. The article below was from the New York Times, picture with compliment from Straits Times. It is interesting, read on.
Title: Debunking the beer belly
THE CLAIM: The calories from alcohol go to your midsection.
THE FACTS: The phenomenon is known by many names: spare tyre, beer belly, beer gut. But do the calories from alcohol congregate in the midsection at a greater rate than the calories from other sources? That is not so clear.
In general, drinking causes weight gain primarily because alcohol slows the body's ability to burn fat for energy, not to mention that it increases appetite.
The effects of alcohol on the midsection are complicated, but studies show pretty clearly that beer, wine and spirits have a greater effect on belly fat in adults who drink sporadically than in people who drink regularly but in small amounts.
In one study published in The Journal of Nutrition in 2003, a group of scientists studied more than 2,300 drinkers and non-drinkers and found, after controlling a number of variables, that those who averaged a single drink per day had the lowest levels of abdominal fat.
Those who drank occasionally but had four or more drinks in one sitting had the greatest levels. Several other studies have shown similar results.
One theory is that drinking regularly increases the amount of enzymes that break down alcohol. More research is still needed.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Moderate drinking does not seem to increase abdominal fat. Excessive drinking might.
- New York Times
Labels: belly dance, belly dancer, belly dancing
