Aerobic exercise is best for losing belly fat

Avoid abdominal fat is not just a matter of aesthetics but of health, since it is associated with heart disease, hypertension, risk of diabetes and some cancers, among other diseases.

According to a new study by researchers at the Medical Center at Duke University (USA), and published in the American Journal of Physiology, to get rid of abdominal fat aerobic exercise is better than resistance training , as the first 67 percent burn more calories.

The study lasted eight months and observed a group of 196 overweight, sedentary adults, aged 18 to 70 years old, compared the efficacy of aerobic exercise (like jogging) with resistance training (weight lifting), and a combination of both.

For this purpose the aerobic group participants trotted 19 KM (12 miles) per week, 80% of maximum heart rate and the resistance group did three sets of twelve repetitions three times a week.

The researchers found that aerobic exercise significantly reduced visceral fat and liver (located deep in the abdomen and fills the spaces between the internal organs), and improved risk factors for heart disease and diabetes (levels of resistance insulin, triglycerides and liver enzymes). For his part, did not confer resistance training the same benefits.

The researchers also found that aerobic exercise plus resistance training achieved similar results to aerobic exercise alone.

Therefore Cris Slentz, lead author of the study, said: "The resistance training is great for improving strength and increase lean body mass, but if you are overweight and want to lose abdominal fat, aerobic exercise is a better choice because it burns more calories, "he said.