 [ Symptoms ] why do some people lose weight faster than others [ Disease ] in a new study published in radiology german researchers have proclaimed that they can use mri and mr spectroscopy imaging to actually predict who will benefit most from lifestyle changes the answer involves how much intra abdominal and liver fat you have the scientists performed mri scans on 243 99 men mean age 47 years and 144 women mean age 44 years before and after nine months of a healthy lifestyle intervention program with a goal of shedding 5 percent of original body weight the participants reduced their fat intake to no more than 30 percent of total calories and walked at least three hours per week while generally engaging in moderate physical activity each day all of the study subjects were considered at risk for developing type 2 diabetes they had a bmi of 27 or greater impaired glucose tolerance andor a first degree relative with type 2 diabetes in addition to the mri scans researchers also measured insulin sensitivity since people who have type 2 diabetes do not respond appropriately to insulin a hormone secreted by the pancreas that is crucial to glucose metabolism after nine months in the healthier lifestyle program scientists found that * 71 of the men and 58 of the women experienced improved insulin sensitivity and along with this they shed lots of intra abdominal fat 19 reduced in women 20 in men and liver fat 35 reduced in women 44 in men while the overall body weight decreased by 3 5 * the study subjects who fared the best with shedding fat started out with lower baseline levels of intra abdominal and liver fat * participants who did not experience an improvement in insulin sensitivity dropped much smaller amounts of intra abdominal fat 4 reduced in women 6 in men while men shed 15 of their liver fat and women actually gained 22 more liver fat here are some take home messages to help guide you on your quest to live your best healthy lifestyle 1 it is not just how fat you are but it is where the fat is at that counts fat that is carried primarily on the lower half of the body hips thighs buttocks is metabolically different than intra abdominal and liver fat excessive inner belly fat is highly associated with a higher risk of heart disease type 2 diabetes and some cancers it is also associated with an increased level of inflammation which is often a precursor to these medical conditions 2 mind your middle grab a tape measure right now and whip it around your tummy across your belly button your goal is to keep your waist size under 35 for women and below 40 if you are a guy want to know if you have got too much inner belly fat first look in the mirror if you are more apple shaped versus pear shape you may have too much intra abdominal fat second lay down on your back on a flat surface intra abdominal