What is Belly Fat? It is the fat around the stomach and abdomen and they can be very hard to lose. Belly fat doesn’t just looks ugly, but they are also unhealthy and can be linked to diseases like metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. You can estimate your belly fat by measuring the circumference around your waist using a simple tape measure. If your measurement is above 40 inches (102 cm) for men and 35 inches (88 cm) for women, then that is called abdominal obesity. Excessive belly fats are extremely unhealthy. In medical terms belly fat is called "visceral fat," these are fats that surrounds the liver and other organs in the abdomen. According to this study visceral fat pumps out the lion’s share of immune system chemicals called cytokines which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Visceral fat is also directly linked with higher total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower HDL (good) cholesterol, and insulin resistance.