Belly fat can be extremely difficult to lose, but it can be done, and it is worth the effort. Extra fat anywhere can increase your risk for health problems, but a layer of fat behind your belly muscles may cause more problems. This kind of fat is called "visceral fat" and it surrounds your vital organs in the abdominal cavity. The problem with visceral fat is that it pumps out hormones that have been linked to heart disease, diabetes and even some cancers.

You can’t tell how much of your body fat is visceral without a CT or other body scan, but there is a way to estimate how much you have. By taking your waist and hip measurements you can arrive at your waist-to-hip ratio. You should divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. And the lower the percentage, the better. For example: a 30-inch waist to 40-inch hip ratio is 75%; which is better than a 40-inch waist to 40-inch hip ratio that is 100%.

In reality, our genes in part determine where we "park our fat." Our genes dictate if our body shape is more like a pear, because we store fat more in the hips, or an apple, because we store fat around the midriff. But this doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do about it.

Exercise can significantly reduce the amount of visceral fat you carry around. The more exercise you do, the more of this dangerous fat you will lose. Extra exercise can also reverse the amount you have, while some moderate exercise can stop your visceral fat from mounting up. But, if you remain inactive, more likely than not, you will pile on the weight at a rate of four pounds per year.