As people in developing countries become more affluent and westernized, they get more access to the same products and services long-enjoyed by folks in North America and Western Europe. Fast food is the most obvious cultural import from the West and its proliferation is causing obesity in more countries across the globe.

The first mistake people do in their attempts to lose belly fat and get toned abs is doing ab isolation exercises. Although common-sense may make sit-ups and crunches seem effective in isolating belly fat, getting a lean, flat abdomen takes much more than that.

Ab isolation exercises only serve to develop muscle tissue around the stomach area. They’re not really effective for burning body fat and only by focusing on body fat burn can one achieve muscle definition and getting lean, toned abs.

Studies have proven cardiovascular exercise that involves the whole body is most effective in losing excess body fat. The more muscles involved in movement, the more calories burned from stored fat. Eliminate enough body fat and that flabby belly disappears resulting in nicely toned abs.

Doing total body cardio exercises at high enough intensity not only results in fat-loss- they also condition the heart and lungs, putting more oxygen into the blood stream and lowering blood pressure. The metabolic rate also goes up and stays elevated even after working out. This means more calories burned throughout the day.

The human body’s ability to prevent fat-gain is improved significantly when our metabolism goes up. The higher our metabolism is, the more calories we can burn even while away from the gym. Everyone knows that weight-loss results from burning more calories than we consume from food each day.

Muscle building resistance exercises can also help fight body fat by enabling us to burn more calories. Muscles burn calories even while were not using them. The more muscular a person is therefore, the less time he has to spend in the gym working out.

Whole body cardio exercises, aside from being highly effective in burning massive amounts of calories per session, are also more fun to do. The more a person has fun and looks forward to his workout sessions, the less likely he or she would be prone to get lazy and stop working out. Just as with any other endeavor, consistent exercise is the key to losing fat and getting toned abs with good definition.