# fat around abs
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 10, 2002, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360 "2002-05-10T20:37:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@percussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percussion)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2002, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/1 "2002-05-10T20:37:31Z")
How do you get rid of this?
Im not that fat anywhere else really. But like around my gut its huge…how do I fix this…like males in my family havea tendancy for this build but that can be fixed right.
please help
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### Author:  [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2002, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/2 "2002-05-10T21:08:44Z")
Unfortunately, targeted fat loss is nearly impossible, short of liposuction. You have to just do the aerobic and cardio to do generalized fat reduction. I guess this is good news if you like running more than sit-ups.
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### Author:  [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/3 "2002-05-10T21:09:39Z")
1. Diet and exercise for overall weight loss. Spot reduction is impossible unless you go with…
2. Liposuction.
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### Author:  [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/4 "2002-05-10T21:11:11Z")
Sigh.
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### Author:  [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/5 "2002-05-10T22:41:31Z")
Bummed about being scooped by a Nerd, Sue?
😉
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### Author:  [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2002, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/6 "2002-05-10T23:10:44Z")
Who says spot reduction is impossible w/out lipo? Peh! I don’t believe it.
Here’s what you do:
Eat like a china man
Exercise like a mad man (big sweat)
and do at least half hour of abs EVERYDAY.
enjoy your new figure!
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### Author:  [@KW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KW)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/7 "2002-05-11T01:07:17Z")
Everyone gets some extra flesh round the middle as they get older because the discs between your vertebrae get flatter so your waist gets shorter.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/8 "2002-05-11T01:16:29Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Peach \*
> **Who says spot reduction is impossible w/out lipo?**
Pretty much everyone involved in sports medicine. See a few of the links below:[ul][li][http://www.bodytrends.com/articles/body\_comp/spotreductiongf.htm[/li][li]http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Myths.html[/li][li]http://espn.go.com/trainingroom/s/fitness/spot.html[/li][li]http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/8798.html[/li][li]http://www.classicx.com/html/body\_9spot.html[/li][li]http://stephenholtfitness.com/articles/on%20spot%20reduction.htm[/li][li]http://ilovevt.com/julaug01behealthy.htm[/li][li]http://www.dolfzine.com/page10.htm[/ul][/li]](http://www.bodytrends.com/articles/body_comp/spotreductiongf.htm%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Myths.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://espn.go.com/trainingroom/s/fitness/spot.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/8798.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.classicx.com/html/body_9spot.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://stephenholtfitness.com/articles/on%20spot%20reduction.htm%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://ilovevt.com/julaug01behealthy.htm%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.dolfzine.com/page10.htm%5B/ul%5D%5B/li%5D)
And those are just off the first two pages of a Google search on “spot reduction”. FYI, I saw in the March (I think) issue of Men’s Health that in order to burn a pound of fat, you have to do a quarter million crunches. A half-hour a day just ain’t gonna cut it.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2002, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/9 "2002-05-11T01:22:15Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by ultrafilter \*
> \*\*[ul][li][http://www.bodytrends.com/articles/body\_comp/spotreductiongf.htm[/li][li]http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Myths.html[/li][li]http://espn.go.com/trainingroom/s/fitness/spot.html[/li][li]http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/8798.html[/li][li]http://www.classicx.com/html/body\_9spot.html[/li][li]http://stephenholtfitness.com/articles/on%20spot%20reduction.htm[/li][li]http://ilovevt.com/julaug01behealthy.htm[/li][li]http://www.dolfzine.com/page10.htm[/ul]](http://www.bodytrends.com/articles/body_comp/spotreductiongf.htm%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Myths.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://espn.go.com/trainingroom/s/fitness/spot.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/8798.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.classicx.com/html/body_9spot.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://stephenholtfitness.com/articles/on%20spot%20reduction.htm%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://ilovevt.com/julaug01behealthy.htm%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.dolfzine.com/page10.htm%5B/ul%5D) [/li]
\*\*
Fixed it. Damn HTML codes.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2002, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/10 "2002-05-11T01:25:09Z")
[QUOTE]
\*Originally posted by ultrafilter \*
**[ul][li][http://www.bodytrends.com/articles/body\_comp/spotreductiongf.htm[/li][li]http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Myths.html[/li][li]http://espn.go.com/trainingroom/s/fitness/spot.html[/li][li]http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/8798.html[/li][li]http://www.classicx.com/html/body\_9spot.html[/li][li]http://stephenholtfitness.com/articles/on%20spot%20reduction.htm[/li][li]http://ilovevt.com/julaug01behealthy.htm[/li][li]http://www.dolfzine.com/page10.htm[/ul]](http://www.bodytrends.com/articles/body_comp/spotreductiongf.htm%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Myths.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://espn.go.com/trainingroom/s/fitness/spot.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/8798.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.classicx.com/html/body_9spot.html%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://stephenholtfitness.com/articles/on%20spot%20reduction.htm%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://ilovevt.com/julaug01behealthy.htm%5B/li%5D%5Bli%5Dhttp://www.dolfzine.com/page10.htm%5B/ul%5D)**[/li][/QUOTE]
Missed a [\*\*\*\*/url], so the whole thing was off. Should work now.
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### Author:  [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2002, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/11 "2002-05-11T01:26:57Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by KW \*
> \*\*Everyone gets some extra flesh round the middle as they get older because the discs between your vertebrae get flatter so your waist gets shorter. \*\*
This is pure garbage. It’s true that as you age,you lose some intervetebral disc space, but this has nothing to do with your abdomen. I’m 64 and have lost 3/4 of an inch since my heyday, apparently due to this phenomenon. But my waist remains the same, at 32".
You lose some fluid in your nucleus pulposus, resulting in losing height in your vertebrae. “Discs between your vertebrae”?😕 The discs are part of your vertebrae. In fact they are in the middle of the vertebral body.
People tend to get extra fat (not “flesh”) as they age because they tend not to exercise as much and eat more.
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/12 "2002-05-11T01:43:39Z")
I thought the issue with beer bellies is not the amount of fat there, but the fitness of the muscles holding it in? Strengthening the abs may not reduce fat, but the effect will be similar to sucking in your gut all the time, I guess.
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### Author:  [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-around-abs/108360/13 "2002-05-11T02:12:40Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by scr4 \*
> \*\*I thought the issue with beer bellies is not the amount of fat there, but the fitness of the muscles holding it in? Strengthening the abs may not reduce fat, but the effect will be similar to sucking in your gut all the time, I guess. \*\*
Strengthening your ab muscles while building up a beer belly will give you a muscular abdomen with a beer belly.