Anyone who has experienced living with an apron belly knows how tough this situation can be. It can come with a lot of discomfort and problems. The problems start to really stack up if your belly covers your genitals and begins to approach the knees – as in the grade 4 and grade 5 stages.
Apron belly problems include chafing and an increased risk of certain diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Other problems include physical and emotional distress, constant irritation, and back problems.
The above are just a few problems that can come with an apron belly, or pannus stomach. In this article, I will expound on them and other situations that may be accompanied with an apron belly.
An apron belly results from fat getting deposited in the abdomen region, causing the organs and tissues to expand. An apron belly can become more pronounced when you gain excessive weight, lose weight rapidly, or as a result of pregnancy (after childbirth).
When any of the above scenarios happen, your belly begins to sag. For mothers, it happens mostly after childbirth when the skin that had enlarged sags down. This is also why it is also called mother’s apron, though the name may not be medically recognized. Some medics also call it stomach overhang.
Whichever name you hear – whether it is apron belly, stomach overhang, mother’s apron, or pannus stomach – it is important to note that they are just different names referring to one condition.
Discomforts and problems that you may experience with an apron belly include the following:
Chafing
When you have skin-to-skin contact, you may experience a hot, burning sensation due to friction from rubbing. This leads to a condition called chafing. You could experience discomfort, a red rash, and, in severe cases, the skin may even bleed.
Chafing is not an easy problem since it can cause a great deal of pain. It is also worth noting that chafing is not only caused by stomach overhang or loose skin but is also caused by clothes rubbing against the skin, or even in the thighs where you have skin-to-skin contact.
There are methods available to manage and minimize the effects of an apron belly while you work to get rid of it. These include the following:
- Keep the skin dry – keeping the skin dry will help keep away moisture that would otherwise cause irritation and discomfort. It is recommended to use alum and talcum powders to wick away moisture and keep the skin dry.
- Apply anti-chafing creams – anti-chafing cream may not keep the skin dry but it lubricates, hence reducing the effects of friction where you’ve got skin on skin.
- Use support bands and supportive clothes– using appropriate clothing, especially when exercising, is one of the ways to ease chafing. For an apron belly, you need to consider using support bands or support clothing. This helps in keeping your belly in a position that prevents skin-to-skin rubbing while helping conceal it from public view.
Check out my page on helpful products to manage your apron belly for recommended items.
Back Problems and Discomfort
Carrying extra weight in your belly can be rough on your back. It can cause you to lean back as if you are carrying something in front of you. This position can strain your spine and back pain will start to set in.
Emotional Distress
The physical discomfort that comes with a pannus stomach, or apron belly, can cause emotional distress. This is in addition to how you might see yourself in public with an overhanging belly – as if it is a shame. It is important to note that an apron belly should not put you down. If you’re reading this, you are trying to do something about it. It took a while to put it there, and it may take a while to get it off. Don’t try to fix everything at once.
Self-Esteem Issues/Negative Self-Image
This is a common problem with people who live with an apron belly. In the short term, it can be concealed with various clothing hacks for hiding an apron belly. Take some time to learn about it and you won’t be disappointed.
In the long term, a good diet and exercise routine is fundamental to any program for getting rid of an apron belly.
Increased Risk of Certain Diseases
A pannus stomach has been linked to an increased risk of certain diseases and conditions such as type 2 diabetes, ovarian cancer, and other diseases associated with the heart.
Ovarian Cancer
The Forefront UChicago Medicine reports that a link exists between ovarian cancer and fat cells in the abdomen. It states that the fat cells found in the abdomen increase the risk of getting ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is responsible for a large number of deaths. It is ranked as the fifth cause of death among women.
Pannus stomach and obesity also increase the chances of contracting colorectal and breast cancer in women. This is according to a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine in Mumbai.
Type 2 Diabetes
Belly fat increases the chances of getting type 2 diabetes. The fat that accumulates in the abdomen is not healthy. It is associated with insulin resistance, which contributes to type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes can worsen your situation. With this condition, your body is not able to produce and/or utilize enough insulin to regulate your blood sugar levels.
Combined with an apron belly, it becomes very difficult to handle as the problems start compounding one on top of the other.
Heart Disease
Some medical research findings link an increase in waist circumference – a condition that is common with pannus stomach – to coronary heart disease. At worst, this can even cause a stroke.
It is, therefore, important to always maintain a healthy lifestyle and work on building good habits such as healthy eating and being physically active.
Movement Limitation/Trouble in Walking
With an overhanging stomach, it can even be uncomfortable to walk around due. The discomfort can be so much that some people who have developed this condition rarely walk for long without resting.
In some stages, like in grades 4 and 5 – where the apron belly hangs past the genitals, you tend to find yourself sitting down most of the time since it is difficult to walk. This unfortunately results in less calories burned throughout the day and, commonly, an increase in weight.
Ulcers and Infections
When you don’t keep the area of skin-on-skin contact clean, it can cause skin ulcers. The skin-to-skin contact and friction that you experience as a result of stomach overhang may cause wounds in the skin, which may lead to infection.
The skin ulcers can take a long time to heal and is usually just one of many problems associated with a pannus stomach.
Cleaning Problems
Of course, it is not easy to clean underneath the skin, especially where you have developed a big overhanging belly. But, regardless of how hard it is to clean, you should always try to keep the area clean to avoid other infections.
Difficulty in cleaning is not the end of it. After cleaning, you may also find it difficult to keep the areas dry or may even have difficulty applying anti-chafing cream or powder.
Final Thoughts
This is an attempt to cover each and every discomfort/problem associated with an apron belly. The problems above do not equate to a life sentence for you, since you can overcome all these by getting the right treatments and/or solutions.
Of course, there are methods of getting rid of your pannus stomach – both surgical and non-surgical – to reduce the discomfort and problems that come with it.