Belly fat makes you fatter
An article by Carole
Posted April 18, 2008 
Abdominal fat increases the risk of conditions such as heart disease.
Researchers have found the fat people carry around their stomachs could be making them fatter.
Abdominal fat tissue produces a hormone called NPY – which can prompt the development of cells that turn into fat. It is already known that high levels of NPY in the brain produce constant feelings of hunger.
Everyone knows being overweight is bad for health, no matter where in the body it lies - but abdominal fat is known to be more dangerous as it increases the risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and some cancers.
Dr Kaiping Yang, who led the research, said: “This may lead to a vicious cycle where NPY produced in the brain causes you to eat more and therefore gain more fat around your middle – and then that fat produces more NYP hormone which leads to even more fat cells.”
Reachers have said eventually it may be possible to develop a simple blood test to detect increased levels of NPY in the body.
Dr Yang added: “If you can detect NPY early and identify those at risk for abdominal obesity we can then target therapy to turn off NPY.
