id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body">




You can't lose weight on a specific part of your body.

Getty Images

If you've ever done thousands of crunches in an attempt to lose a little belly fat, you're not alone. Body insecurity is real, and lots of people face pressure to have a flatter stomach, thinner thighs or tighter triceps. But is it really possible to "target" specific body parts to lose weight?

No matter how much we want it to be true, tour trung quốc it turns out that the idea of spot reduction -- training a specific part of your body to lose fat there -- is a myth. We all carry fat in different parts of our bodies, and while you can lose weight through careful attention to a myriad of factors, there's no quick fix. Read on for all the answers to the questions you have about fat distribution, fat loss and spot reduction.


Why do I carry fat in specific places?
We all have different body shapes -- some carry weight around their midsection, tour trung quốc while others have an "hourglass" shape, where you carry weight in your chest and hips. Body fat distribution is determined in part by environmental factors, like alcohol intake and cigarette use, but it also has a strong genetic component.

Research suggests that body fat distribution has a heritability rate of up to 60%. For those of us that are a little shaky on our high school biology, that means that 60% of the variability in body fat distribution in a population is due to genetics. So, while diet and exercise definitely affect your body fat distribution, you may end up with a body shape similar to your family members.