How to lose belly fat on the Pakistani food you already eat.

Why does belly fat matter more for South Asians?

Because South Asians tend to develop type 2 diabetes at a lower BMI than white Europeans. A University of Warwick study of 1.5 million people in England found that the diabetes risk white people had at a BMI of 30 was reached by South Asians at a BMI of 23.9.

Where the fat sits is part of the picture. A Canadian study that compared adults with similar BMIs found South Asians carried relatively more fat in the abdomen than Europeans, especially visceral fat, the deeper fat packed around the organs. BMI alone underestimated it.

So keep a tape measure next to the scale. NICE advises keeping your waist to less than half your height. A waist-to-height ratio of 0.5 to 0.59 counts as increased central fat with a higher health risk, and 0.6 or more as high. Our guide to healthy BMI for South Asians shows how to measure your waist at home.

Can you lose fat from just your belly?

No. When you lose fat, your body draws on fat stores all over, and you can't pick the spot. So the most reliable pet kam karne ka tarika (way to shrink your tummy) is the same as the way to lose fat anywhere: take in a little less energy than you use, week after week.

Stomach exercises don't change this on their own. In a small 2011 study of 24 adults who kept their eating steady, the group that did seven abdominal exercises five days a week for six weeks got better at curl-ups. But the exercises made no significant difference to their body weight, body fat, belly fat or waist size.

Sit-ups and planks are still good for strength. Belts, creams, wraps and "pet kam" teas can't remove fat from one spot either, so save your money for good food and walking shoes.

What should you eat to lose belly fat?

The same home food, in slightly different amounts. In most Pakistani kitchens the extra energy hides in a few places: oil and ghee, roti and rice portions, sugar in chai, fried snacks and cold drinks. Change those and you don't need special diet food.

The figures are rounded from USDA FoodData Central: a tablespoon of ghee or oil is about 120 calories, a roti from 40 g of atta about 135, a cup of cooked rice about 200, and a teaspoon of sugar (about 4 g) about 16. Our guide to roti and weight loss shows how to size your roti.

Sugar is easy to underestimate. Two teaspoons in each of four cups of chai comes to about 34 g a day. The WHO advises keeping free sugars (sugar added to food and drinks, plus the sugar in honey, syrups and fruit juice) under 10% of your daily energy, which is about 12 level teaspoons for someone eating 2,000 calories. That chai habit alone uses up two thirds of it.

Do protein and fibre help you lose belly fat?

They make it easier to eat less. A 2015 review found that higher-protein meals made people feel a little fuller. In shorter, tightly controlled studies, higher-protein weight loss diets led to more fat loss and kept more muscle than lower-protein ones, and smaller waists were reported too. Longer studies were mixed, mostly because people found the diets hard to stick to.

Fibre-rich sabzi, daal and fruit fill the plate for far fewer calories than fried food. Put the two together like this:

• Half the plate sabzi or salad. The US CDC plate method fills half a 9-inch plate with non-starchy vegetables, a quarter with protein and a quarter with carbohydrate foods such as roti or rice.
• Protein at every meal. Eggs or khageena at breakfast, daal, chana or lobia at lunch, chicken, fish or lean keema at dinner, and dahi on the side.
• Fibre from everyday food. Bhindi, lauki, palak, kachumber salad, daal, chana, a guava or an apple, and chakki atta with the chokar (bran) left in.

For a full week of meals built this way, see our Pakistani diet plan for weight loss.

Which exercise helps reduce belly fat?

Walking and strength work, together. Walking uses energy and adds to the overall fat loss that shrinks your waist, while strength exercises help you build and keep muscle. The NHS advises adults to do at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, plus strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week.

• Walk. 150 minutes is about 20 minutes a day. Try a brisk walk after Maghrib or after dinner, laps of the park, or the mall when it's too hot outside.
• Build strength at home. Squats, push-ups against a wall or on the floor, lunges, yoga, or lifting filled water bottles. Carrying heavy shopping bags counts too.
• Start small. Two short strength sessions a week is enough to begin, and you can add more as it gets easier.

Does sleep affect belly fat?

It plays a part. The US CDC says adults aged 18 to 60 need 7 or more hours of sleep a day, and counts staying at a healthy weight among the benefits of enough sleep, along with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Late nights are part of life in Pakistan: dinner at 10, chai at midnight, shaadi functions that finish at 2 am, then the phone in bed. A tired day often brings more chai, more biscuits and less walking. Aim for a regular bedtime on most nights, eat dinner a little earlier when you can, and switch to water after the evening chai.

When should you see a doctor about belly fat?

When your tummy has changed in a way that doesn't feel like ordinary weight gain. The NHS advises seeing a GP if you feel bloated regularly, or if bloating comes with weight loss you can't explain or blood in your poo. Ask for an urgent appointment if you notice a swelling or lump in your tummy, or have bloating with a stomach ache.

• After a baby: the two muscles down the middle of the stomach often separate in pregnancy. The NHS says the gap usually closes by the time your baby is 8 weeks old. If it's still obvious after that, see your doctor, who can refer you to a physiotherapist.
• Weight gain with tiredness: putting on weight while feeling unusually tired and cold can be a sign of an underactive thyroid. Ask your doctor about a thyroid test.
• Over 25, with a waist over half your height: Diabetes UK says type 2 diabetes risk for South Asians rises from age 25, so ask your doctor about an HbA1c or fasting glucose test. Our guide to insulin resistance explains what the results mean.
• Medicines: if you take insulin or tablets such as gliclazide, cutting carbohydrates suddenly can make your blood sugar drop too low. Talk to your doctor before changing your diet, and never stop a medicine on your own.

If you'd like help turning all this into a plan, our online weight loss clinic works with the food your family already cooks. NutriZaika is a virtual nutrition clinic, and its 28-day plans are reviewed by Nida Tu Sehar, Senior Nutrition Consultant and Clinical Lead.

Every plan lists each ingredient in grams and includes a Body Snapshot that checks your waist against South Asian healthy ranges. See our plans and prices. If you'd like one, choose your plan.