Can you spot reduce body fat?

Spot reduction is usually written off as a myth in health and fitness circles, but there is still no shortage of products claiming to help you with spot reduction and to “melt fat away.” Is there a middle ground between myths and truth? I am not asking to be provocative, but to raise a genuine question: What is actually possible in our physiology regarding spot reduction? It’s a topic I’ve always found interesting. Worst-case scenario, you might learn a little more about how we move fat around within our bodies. 

If you found this article, there’s a good chance you already know what “spot reduction” is. But, just to make sure everyone’s up to speed, we’ll start with a rough definition. “Spot reduction” refers to preferentially and purposefully losing fat from one specific region of the body. And, more often than not, the goal of spot reduction is to lose fat from a “stubborn” region where your body tends to retain more fat. So, for instance, if you tend to store fat in your love handles — and your body holds onto fat there when you lose weight — “spot reduction” would refer to the use of specific strategies that would allow you to preferentially lose more fat from your love handles.

So, now that we’re all up to speed, let’s dig in!

How fat mobilization works and why spot reduction seems plausible

Let’s say you’re not thrilled with the amount of fat around your midsection (some might call it “belly fat”). In looking for solutions, you come across an influencer who claims that doing a lot of ab exercises can help you burn more fat in that area. They recommend hitting your abs with high-volume, high-intensity training with a lot of sit-ups and crunches to “melt” the fat off.

But why? Why would hammering away at your abs help you lose fat and, specifically in this instance, from your stomach?

In order to understand why people think this, we have to start with the concept of lipolysis (the breaking down of stored triglycerides into free fatty acids [FFAs]) and fat mobilization (releasing those FFAs into the bloodstream). Returning to our example, that type of localized ab training can trigger real physiological effects. 

When you train a specific area, like your abs, this can cause an increase of blood flow to that region and nearby tissues. Exercise also raises levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine (hormones and neurotransmitters that help regulate fat metabolism), which can bind to adrenergic receptors on nearby fat cells (think of a lock-and-key interaction). This binding activates a signaling pathway called cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate), which ramps up lipolysis and releases FFAs into the bloodstream. Ergo, fat stored near the training area you’re working can be mobilized (though this should not to be confused with being “burned” or “melted away;” I’ll get to that). 

To give a research view of this, let’s look at this study from Stallknecht et al. They wanted to see whether fat breakdown (lipolysis) and blood flow were higher in areas next to working muscles compared with areas next to resting muscles during exercise. They found that blood flow and lipolysis were higher in the fat next to the working leg compared with the resting leg. Now, this isn’t proof of spot reduction, but it may suggest that spot reduction could at least be physiologically plausible. 

Other studies have supported this type of mobilization, and more recently, even non-catecholamine-induced lipolysis may be relevant for individuals with metabolic impairments. But more simply, there tend to be body regions that are more ideal for this type of mobilization that are more adrenergically sensitive (i.e., responds more easily to epinephrine and norepinephrine), well-vascularized for good blood flow, and exposed to enough intensive stimulation to get it all going. So, yes, mobilizing fat in a specific region is actually pretty possible.

But where’s the trick? 

What we need for actual fat loss

There are a few things to consider, but the first and most important is that while a localized exercise can lead to fat mobilization, it does not mean the fat will be oxidized. At any point during the day (at rest, during exercise, or during sleep), your body uses fuel from food you’ve eaten or converts it to stored energy. Put simply, nutrients from food are either used immediately or stored for later use. To use stored fat as fuel, it needs to be mobilized through lipolysis. To be clear and not cause any confusion, it does not take targeted exercise for this to happen; it is merely your body’s need for fuel that starts the process. Again, this can happen on a walk, during sleep, or while reading this article. 

Lipolysis can enable FFAs to enter the bloodstream. If those FFAs are needed for energy, they’ll be transported into cells, enter the mitochondria (see: powerhouse of the cell), and go through oxidative phosphorylation. Some FFAs are taken up by the liver and used for other purposes, but this is an oversimplification. Still, the bottom line is that those FFAs need to be taken up and metabolized, not just circulated to reduce fat stores. If not used, these FFAs will undergo re-esterification, which essentially means they will be stored as fat again. 

So, let’s pause and save a little for the end of the article; let’s discuss if anything, be it topical cream, device, or exercise can actually assist in spot reduction. 

Spot reduction: Topicals and devices

With all we just discussed at the forefront of your mind, let’s start with topicals. 

The most commonly researched option is aminophylline cream. Aminophylline has been used as a bronchodilator for asthma, but it’s also been retargeted for consumers in topical form and marketed as a way to “melt fat” when applied to the skin. How could it spot reduce? Well, aminophylline can increase cAMP signaling, and as we discussed, these signals could help increase localized fat lipolysis. Note that I commented on a localized lipolysis, not on an oxidation.

Most studies have tested it on areas like the thighs or waist, and there’s just enough research to pull together a small systematic review. Some of the studies from the review show modest reductions in body circumferences, but the findings are inconsistent and mostly date back several decades. Other creams might also add additional ingredients like caffeine or yohimbine, but the added benefits of those combinations aren’t well-established. Overall, the effects are small, and the evidence is limited.

Devices marketed for the purpose of spot reduction range from vibration products to wrap belts. The history of use for vibration ranges from whole body vibration to small belts you can wear around your waist. To be fair, there is quite a big difference between whole-body vibration work using large plates versus a tiny device isolated to one area. One could reasonably achieve an increase in overall total daily energy expenditure with plate machines that could lead to an actual fat decrease, but it really doesn’t have anything to do with spot reduction.

Looking at isolating vibrations to “spot reduction,” some research (here and here) tested localized vibration therapy using devices comparable to at-home belts or handheld units. These studies didn’t find meaningful changes in fat mass or overall body weight, but they did report increased blood flow to the targeted areas and a smoothing of the skin or reduction in dimpling to cellulite. So, it’s possible one could increase blood flow, an important aspect of lipolysis, but again, it’s not likely to cause any oxidation.

Spot reduction: Exercise 

Outside of surgical or pharmacological intervention, exercise has the strongest evidence of support in aiding spot reduction. Let’s look at some of the most popular or convincing (though not always the same) studies supporting spot reduction with exercise.

The one that started a new wave of conversation recently is a 2023 study from Brobakken et al that boldly puts in the title, “Abdominal aerobic endurance exercise reveals spot reduction exists: A randomized controlled trial.” This study included 16 overweight adult men assigned to either an abdominal endurance training group or a control group that performed only treadmill running four times a week for 10 weeks. They found that fat mass and body weight mass loss were similar. However, the abdominal training group saw more reduction in trunk fat mass, which can be taken as pretty strong proof that not only is spot reduction possible, but also that aerobic endurance training targeting a specific area can lead to greater fat loss in that region. 

So, is this study proof? Can you use this study as strong evidence for spot reduction?

Though it may be popular, there are some problems with the methodology of this study.

To be fair, the authors attempted to match sessions for energy expenditure based on pilot VO2 measurements, but the abdominal group had significantly longer sessions (~84 minutes versus 45 minutes). Without direct measurements of total daily energy expenditure across the intervention, it’s pretty plausible that the abdominal group had a higher total energy expenditure. And sometimes these details aren’t always worth quibbling over, but if you’re going to nitpick about small amounts of trunk fat mass being locally removed from a small area, I’d argue we have to tighten up the methodology a bit.

Another thing to consider: Overweight men tend to carry extra weight in their stomachs, and if there was an additional loss of fat in an area by an energy deficit, this is likely where fat would come off regardless of targeting. Generally speaking, men tend to store fat in their abdominal region for various reasons ranging from metabolic to hormonal. This means that if differing training leads to a larger total daily energy expenditure and a potential for more fat loss, it wouldn’t be a stretch that it would come from their abdominal area. 

Another study from Paoli et al also found spot reduction in the abdominal area. It did have slightly better methodology, but may have run into the same problem: The group that had better results also ultimately trained harder and could have seen a greater increase in overall expenditure and, therefore, fat loss. Notably, this study tested both abdominal and triceps — and the triceps saw no noticeable change. 

A study I feel actually has a little more weight is from Scotto di Palumbo et al. This 2017 study examined if training a specific limb with resistance training could lead to more reduction in fat from that area. They randomly assigned groups to an upper or lower body resistance training with aerobic work. And importantly, the aerobic work hit the opposing area, which I think was a nice touch and helps to weaken the argument that general increases in energy expenditure caused the fat loss. In the end, they found that the regions that were hit more with direct training saw a larger decrease in fat.

Now, this is not to say that Scotto di Palumbo et al didn’t have limitations as well, but overall this study is much more of a smoking gun for the possibility of spot reduction than some of the studies that claim to prove the myth dead. 

With all this said, Scotto di Palumbo et al isn’t the only study to examine in more direct ways if reduction is possible. In the 1980s, they tested sit-ups and abdominal fat (and here) and didn’t see much. In fact, here is more evidence (here and here) that challenges the idea of spot reduction rather than supports it.

Overall, the evidence suggests that training a specific area harder doesn’t reliably lead to spot reduction or even meaningful fat mobilization. And that circles us back to the bigger, more fundamental problem with the idea.

The ultimate hiccup with spot reduction 

So, let’s say a cream, a belt, or isolated training does manage to mobilize fat from the area you’re targeting. Let’s assume, physiologically, that cAMP signaling increases, the fat cells open up, and fatty acids are released into the bloodstream. There are three big factors to consider. 

• You still need a Calorie deficit to lose fat permanently. Mobilization is just the first step. If you aren’t in a deficit, the fat will be stored elsewhere through a process of re-esterification.
• You can’t control which fatty acids are burned. Mobilized fat enters a general pool, and the body doesn’t prioritize fat from a specific area.
• The amount of mobilized fat is probably small anyway. Even if localized mobilization happens, it’s unlikely to meaningfully shift overall fat loss patterns.

Put simply, it’s a small amount of FFAs that could be released and ultimately, it’s all one big pool and we can’t choose what gets used and what doesn’t. Even if we are in a deficit, the body isn’t selectively choosing to oxidize those specific fatty acids freed from an intensive bout of crunches. Mobilization increases the chances that fat could be used, but it doesn’t guarantee where that fat comes from or whether it will be burned at all. 

I actually don’t have any issue saying it’s physiologically possible to mobilize fat from a specific spot. It’s just that there are no guarantees and you can’t really control whether that fat gets oxidized. At best, you might be looking at a chance of spot reduction while having to also be in a Calorie deficit. And while there are arguments that you could do all the things and target an area with high exercise, eat in a deficit, and sculpt your body with an even finer chisel, I’d say there’s not quite enough evidence yet to do that versus letting the fat fall where it may. 

Take home

What you might not have expected from this article is that, from a physiological standpoint, spot reduction isn’t pure myth. Under the right conditions, I do think it’s possible to mobilize fat locally. However, actually translating that into meaningful and targeted fat loss is a different story. You can’t control which fatty acids are oxidized, and you can’t dictate where fat loss occurs. And again, you need a deficit for any of the “reduction” parts to take place. If spot reduction is a real phenomenon, its overall impact is likely very small.

Right now, the evidence doesn’t offer strong support for the idea that you can reliably and predictably sculpt specific areas through localized exercise or intervention alone. So, while the topic isn’t quite as black and white as some suggest, the practical takeaway doesn’t change much. Therefore, if you want the best results, focus on the fundamentals: consistent energy expenditure knowledge paired with dialed-in nutrition. And hey, if you want to throw in a few extra crunches for peace of mind, at least now you have a better sense of what’s happening and what isn’t.