Is It Possible to Target Fat Loss to Specific Body Parts?

Although targeting fat loss in specific areas of the body would be ideal, the theory of spot reduction has not been proven effective by scientific studies.

How Fat Loss Works

To understand why spot reduction may not be effective, it is important to understand how the body burns fat.

The fat in your cells is found in the form of triglycerides, which are stored fats that the body can use for energy.

Before they can be burned for energy, triglycerides must be broken down into smaller sections called free fatty acids and glycerol, which are able to enter the bloodstream.

During exercise, the free fatty acids and glycerol used as fuel can come from anywhere in the body, not specifically from the area that is being exercised.

The Majority of Studies Have Debunked Spot Reduction

Aside from not correlating with how the body burns fat, a number of studies have shown spot reduction to be ineffective.

For example, one study in 24 people who only completed exercises targeting the abdominals for six weeks found no reduction in belly fat (5).

Another study that followed 40 overweight and obese women for 12 weeks found that resistance training of the abdominals had no effect on belly fat loss, compared to dietary intervention alone (6).

A study focusing on the effectiveness of upper body resistance training had similar results. This 12-week study included 104 participants who completed a training program that exercised only their non-dominant arms.

Researchers found that although some fat loss did occur, it was generalized to the entire body, not the arm being exercised (7).

Several other studies have resulted in similar findings, concluding that spot reduction is not effective for burning fat in specific areas of the body (8, 9, 10).

However, a small number of studies have had conflicting results.

One study in 10 people found fat loss was higher in areas close to contracting muscles (11).

Another recent study including 16 women found that localized resistance training followed by 30 minutes of cycling resulted in increased fat loss in specific areas of the body (12).

Although findings from these studies warrant additional research, both had potential reasons for conflicting results, including measurement techniques and a small number of participants.

Despite these outlier studies, most scientific evidence shows that it is not possible to lose fat in one specific area by exercising that body part alone.

Summary Most scientific evidence shows that spot reduction is not effective and that fat loss tends to be generalized to the entire body, not the body part being exercised.