Belly fat tends to get a bad rap, but new research shows that one kind of belly fat can be healthier than others \u2014 provided you\u2019re willing to get moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFat is really misunderstood,\u201d said Jeffrey Horowitz, a professor of exercise physiology in the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. \u201cThe fat we have, especially that which is stored under our skin, is a really important place to store our energy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a new study<\/a> published Tuesday in the journal Nature Metabolism, Horowitz and his team found that people with obesity who get regular aerobic exercise have healthier belly fat tissue \u2014 specifically, that subcutaneous fat stored just beneath the skin \u2014 than nonexercisers with obesity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fat, the study found, essentially behaved differently in people with the same percentage of body fat<\/a>, based on their long-term exercise habits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Horowitz and his team recruited 32 people (half male, half female) who were overweight or had obesity. Sixteen had exercised at least four times a week for at least two years \u2014 the average amount of regular exercise was actually 11 years \u2014 while the others lived more sedentary lives. Each person was matched for age, biological sex, body fat percentage and body mass index<\/a>, or BMI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers took samples of fat tissue from each person\u2019s belly and measured the amount of blood flow in each person\u2019s fat tissue, markers of inflammation, and the rigidity and fibrousness of the tissue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They revealed that exercise appeared to cause biological and structural changes in belly fat, also called adipose tissue, that lowered a person\u2019s risk for heart disease<\/a> and metabolic disorders such as Type 2 diabetes<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regular exercisers had less rigid or fibrous fat tissue, which allows fat cells beneath the skin to expand to store fat, one of the body\u2019s primary sources of energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While expanding fat cells may sound like a bad thing, it\u2019s actually better for health than having inflexible fat tissue. That\u2019s because if a person gains fat and the body can\u2019t store it in subcutaneous fat cells, it gets stored as a more dangerous type of adipose tissue called visceral fat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Visceral fat is stored deep in the belly<\/a> and surrounds organs. Researchers have long understood that this type of fat is linked with worse health and an increased risk<\/a> of illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having more flexible subcutaneous fat tissue therefore allows more fat to be stored under the skin, where it\u2019s less harmful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The study also showed that fat tissue in exercisers had less inflammation and more blood vessels than in nonexercisers, another indication that regular exercise changed how the body uses fat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you have more blood vessels going into these cells, it suggests they are metabolizing more,\u201d said Dr. Jaime Almandoz, a medical director of the Weight Wellness Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who was not involved with the reseach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that regardless of their BMI, people who exercised more appeared to better be able to use energy from their fat stores. Another indication of this was that they had more proteins involved with fat metabolism in their fat tissue, the study found. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Longtime exercisers were also more fit and had higher insulin sensitivity, which is linked to lower risk of diabetes. Their fat tissue also had less inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople who exercise regularly appear to have much healthier subcutaneous adipose tissue, which would suggest that they have better overall metabolic function,\u201d said Dr. Aayush Visaria, an internal medicine resident at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who was not involved with the research. \u201cIt adds to the whole idea that obesity is a very complex subject with many variables involved, so we should not be making blanket statements about someone\u2019s body type.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The paper adds to a growing number of studies that show a person\u2019s BMI<\/a> or the amount of fat they store on their body doesn\u2019t necessarily indicate how healthy they are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot only have we already shown that body fat distribution is important, now here is another layer showing that what kind of fat you have is important, and how much exercise you engage in can really make a difference,\u201d Visaria said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n