This article is from the Health Articles series.
Fat deposited around the abdomen seems to be more metabolically active than lower body fat stores. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported that in a large study of people over age 65, men with waistlines more than 36 inches and women whose waists measured more than 32 inches faced twice the risk of colorectal cancer as those with thinner waistlines. Large waistline fat stores seem to promote higher levels of insulin and insulin-like growth factors that previous research has shown to stimulate the growth of colorectal cancers. The good news is that exercise and healthy eating choices are very effective at reducing excess waistline fat. The exercise that matters here is not toning exercise (like sit-ups to tighten abdominal muscles), but aerobic exercise (like brisk walking) that will burn up that extra fat.
 
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