The Fat in Love Handles
By PositiveMed-Team
Edited By Stephanie Dawson
Deposits of excess fat at the side of one’s waistline are informally known as Love Handles. Its a section of fat that tends to bulge out the side of your abdomen when you are overweight. Both men and women can have love handles. Love handles come from fat, carbohydrates, and sugar in a person’s diet.
Love handles may vary in size. They may be small, cute, and curvaceous in some cases or they can be massive, obese, and covered with stretch marks.
Small love handles may look good on some females, but if they are massive they can become a cause of various cardiovascular diseases.
Causes:
Net energy imbalance is considered the primary cause for accumulation of excess fat. People generally consume more calories than they expend, waste, or discard through elimination. The following types of food may cause love handles:
• Foods loaded with cheese, butter, or cream – Consuming high-fat foods like pizza which has a lot of cheese or any foods with lots of cream can result in love handles. Having rich desserts like a chocolate pudding or an ice cream also can result in love handles. You can opt for something sweet but healthy like fruit as dessert.
• Alcohol – Alcohol consumption is directly associated with waist circumference of men and people who consume alcohol are at greater risk of abdominal obesity. If someone is keen on getting rid of love handles they should give up alcohol.
• Whole-fat milk – If you consume whole-fat milk you are likely to consume fat along with it. If you want to avoid fat but want the health benefits of milk, substitute with skim milk. Even when you consume yogurt you can opt for yogurt made from skim milk instead of whole-fat.
• Red meat – Consuming red meat can make you gain weight and can result in love handles as it is high in cholesterol. Combining it with an unhealthy diet high in saturated fats can make it worse. You can substitute red meat with chicken or fish.
While all the above items can cause love handles, there may be various other food items having the same effects that are rich in cholesterol.
Health risks
People with massive love handles are often obese and have a higher risk of heart disease, hypertension, insulin resistance, and diabetes. The risk of death increases with an increase in the waist-to-hip ratio and overall waist circumference. People who are obese are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease than the people who are not.
Prevention
Love handles can be controlled by regular exercises, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
