Science-backed ways men can reduce belly fat — and their risk of heart disease and diabetes

Are you ready to blast away your paunch? If your middle has expanded by a belt size or if a tyre or two have appeared over the top of your jeans, it is time to take swift action.

Any midsection bulge is unsightly, but it also comes with the risk of conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. For health reasons, it needs to go.

Belly fat is stored in two ways: As visceral and adipose fat. Visible fat that settles as spare tyres is adipose tissue, whereas visceral fat is the type that builds up on our internal organs, most of which sit in the belly region — making it hard to the touch — raising the risk of disease. Men typically carry more of this risky intra-abdominal or visceral fat than women.

Too much visceral fat secretes molecules linked to inflammation and raised blood sugar, making it a risk for conditions from heart disease to type 2 diabetes.

According to statistics from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, 48% of Irish men are “centrally obese”, that is, they have a “substantially increased” waist circumference, while an estimated 25% more have an “increased” weight circumference.

But where to start? Here we ask leading experts for the latest proven ways to reduce your paunch.

A team of researchers has concluded that neither diet nor exercise is “more important” than the other, and you will need a two-pronged attack. Picture: iStock

Do I really have to diet and work out?

Those who choose diet over exercise — or vice versa — to whittle away belly fat are prone to making “compensatory changes”, which slow progress, says Dr Shayan Aryannezhad, an epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge.

“This means that people who increase activity might also eat more or improve their diet but become less active,” he says. With the dual approach of diet and exercise, a flat stomach is much more attainable — and longer-lasting.

Aryannezhad is a member of a team of researchers who published a recent paper on the subject in the Jama Network Open, which studied 7,256 adults. They concluded that neither diet nor exercise is “more important” than the other, and you will need a two-pronged attack.

Is alcohol off the menu?

If you want to indulge occasionally, then expect the rate of belly-flattening to slow. With seven calories per gram in alcohol and with the surplus carbs in the form of sugars converted to fat, you’re looking at excess belly fat storage over time. Spanish doctors reporting in the European Journal of
Nutrition showed a direct association between the amount of alcohol consumed and levels of abdominal obesity in men. Another study in Public Health Nutrition warned that more than two drinks a day puts adults at a greater risk of gaining belly fat.

Low or no alcohol drinks are not necessarily a low-sugar version. The Irish Government recommends adults limit their intake of added sugars to no more than 30g (around seven teaspoons) per day — and one 330ml bottle of some brands of zero-alcohol beer contains about 11g of sugar, more than one-third of the daily intake.

Red wine has slightly more polyphenols, the antioxidant chemicals with health benefits, than white, Picture: iStock

Choose red over white wine

Red wine has slightly more polyphenols, the antioxidant chemicals with health benefits, than white, but it might also hold slight advantages for belly fat, according to researchers from Iowa State University who compared the effects of different drinks on the waistline.

Their findings in Obesity, Science and Practice journal showed red wine was the only drink shown to lower levels of harmful visceral fat, suggesting it might lower inflammation in the body and discourage fat storage. However, it is not a green light to drink it every day.

Coffee contains small amounts of fibre, which, along with the many plant compounds in the bean, has a beneficial effect on gut health and digestion. Picture: iStock

Is coffee good or bad?

Coffee has reinvented itself as a health drink and, in moderation, might even help reduce belly fat.

For one, it contains small amounts of fibre, which, along with the many plant compounds in the bean, has a beneficial effect on gut health and digestion. Researchers reporting in the journal Nutrients showed how a moderate intake of coffee — up to four cups a day — increased good gut bacteria and reduced levels of bad bacteria.

Coffee also seems to help with reducing abdominal fat, partly because the caffeine provides more energy for exercise but also because of the effect of some of the plant compounds it contains.

All types of olive oil are relatively high in beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids Picture: iStock

Make olive oil the staple fat

Switch butter or coconut oil for olive oil and your belly fat will thank you for it.

All types of olive oil are relatively high in beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids, but extra virgin olive oil — the purest, most antioxidant-packed variety — has the most health benefits.

Extra virgin olive oil is cold pressed and retains many of the polyphenol compounds found in the olive plant, which are linked to regulating fat storage in the body. In a recent study of more than 16,000 people in Frontiers in Nutrition, it was found that regular consumers of extra virgin oil had significantly lower BMI and waist circumference than those who consumed it sporadically.

Cut out excess sugar and ultra-processed foods

Sorry, but any unnecessarily sweetened foods — biscuits, cakes, chocolates, syrup-sweetened coffee — need to go. One study in the journal Circulation found that people who drank a fructose-sweetened drink every day accumulated around 27% more belly fat than people who didn’t consume sweetened drinks. Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) — crisps, ready meals, processed meats and anything with a long list of unrecognisable chemicals on the label — are also off the menu.

When scientists analysed the diets of 22,659 people in Brazil, they found that those with the highest intakes of UPFs were at a 30% greater risk of developing abdominal obesity than those who ate the least.

Cardio plays an important role in reducing belly fat. Picture: iStock

Don’t neglect cardio

A big mistake by many men is to ditch cardiovascular exercise — running, cycling, rowing, swimming or elliptical training — in favour of resistance training in the mistaken belief that it will get rid of their paunch faster.

In fact, you need to do both, and cardio plays an important role in reducing belly fat. Jeffrey Horowitz, professor of exercise physiology at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, analysed the belly fat and activity habits of a group of overweight people and showed that those who had done regular aerobic exercise for at least two years had biological and structural differences in their subcutaneous belly fat, the visible type stored just beneath the skin, which made it healthier.

Every little helps, says Fiona Skelly, lecturer in physical activity and exercise science at Technological University of the Shannon.

“General public health physical activity guidelines for adults recommend you aim to achieve a minimum of two hours and 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise per week,” she says.

“Over the course of a week, this would work out at about a 22-minute moderate intensity walk — slightly elevate your heart rate and breathing rate, but to a point where you can still talk — every day or 30 minutes on five days of the week.”

Will stress impact your paunch?

Stress raises cortisol levels, promoting fat storage in the abdominal area. Which is why people with prolonged stress in their lives tend to have more belly fat as many studies, including one in Obesity journal have shown.

Neuroscientist and health psychologist Sabina Brennan says trying to manage your stress with healthy lifestyle choices such as regular sleep patterns, physical activity, and mindfulness techniques, is important for keeping mind and body healthy.

“Remember that stress can also lead to overeating and unhealthy food choices,” she says. “Left unmanaged, cortisol can also spike your appetite and motivation to over-eat, so managing stress is very important for the waistline.”

You really can’t spot-reduce that belly fat

Studies have shown time and again that core exercises alone have little effect on belly fat. In 2022, a review of 13 studies involving more than 1,000 people in the journal Human Movement found that no localised muscle training — including core muscle training — increased fat loss in the target area.

“The popular belief concerning spot reduction is probably derived from wishful thinking and convenient marketing strategies,” the authors wrote.

“Core strength is important as part of an overall fitness regimen, but it is not the sole answer for reducing your paunch,” says personal trainer Dalton Wong.