What Causes Belly Fat?

1. Poor diet

Sugary food such as cakes and candy, and drinks such as soda and fruit juice, can:

• cause weight gain
• slow a person’s metabolism
• reduce a person’s ability to burn fat

Low-protein, high-carb diets may also affect weight. Protein helps a person feel fuller for longer, and people who do not include lean protein in their diet may eat more food overall.

Trans fatsTrusted Source, in particular, can cause inflammation and may lead to obesity. Trans fats are in many foods, including fast food and baked goods like muffins and crackers.

The American Heart AssociationTrusted Source recommends that people replace trans fats with healthy whole-grain foods, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats.

Reading food labels can help a person determine whether their food contains trans fats.

2. Too much alcohol

Consuming excess alcohol can cause a variety of health problems, including liver disease and inflammation.

A 2015 report on alcohol consumption and obesity found that drinking excess alcohol causes males to gain weight around their bellies, though study results in females are inconsistent.

3. Lack of exercise

If a person consumes more calories than they burn off, they will put on weight.

An inactive lifestyle makes it hard for a person to get rid of excess fat, particularly around the abdomen.

4. Stress

A steroid hormone known as cortisol helps the body control and deal with stress. When a person is in a dangerous or high-pressure situation, their body releases cortisol, and this can impact their metabolism.

People often reach for food for comfort when they feel stressed. Cortisol causes those excess calories to remain around the belly and other areas of the body for later use.

5. Genetics

There is some evidence that a person’s genes can play a part in whether they become obese. Scientists think genes can influence behavior, metabolism, and the risk of developing obesity-related diseasesTrusted Source.

Environmental factors and behavior also play a role in the likelihood of people becoming obese.

6. Poor sleep

A 2013 studyTrusted Source links weight gain to short sleep duration, which could lead to an excess of belly fat. However, causality cannot be inferred from this study.

Short duration of sleep is linked to an increase in food intake, which may play a part in the development of abdominal fat.

Not getting enough good sleep also may, potentially, lead to unhealthy eating behaviors, such as emotional eating.

7. Smoking

Researchers may not consider smoking to be a direct cause of belly fat, but they do believe it to be a risk factor.

A 2012 study published in the journal PloS oneTrusted Source showed that, although obesity was the same between smokers and nonsmokers, smokers had more belly and visceral fat than nonsmokers.