Question: I'm concerned about my husband, whose stomach has gotten huge due to sloppy eating habits and an incredibly sedentary lifestyle. We're working on those. However, what concerns me is that this isn't just a beer gut—the lower area where the intestines are is also huge. He looks like a balloon with a belt. Is there something besides just a big stomach that would cause intestinal area obesity?

Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

Intestinal obesity is not caused by an enlarged stomach. It is actually formed from excessive collections of fat in the abdominal wall as well as in the area that connects to the small and large intestines. Abdominal obesity is associated with an increased risk of cardiac and stroke, as well as premature death and diabetes. It would be prudent to have him examined to be sure his enlarging gut is not associated with any subtle bowel obstruction, physical de-conditioning, hernia, liver condition, fluid in the peritoneal cavity, or associated with infection, obstruction, or undetected tumor.