Flat abs: some people would give anything for them. And if you believe the ads, just a few minutes of exercise a day will give you the rippled look.

"Exercising your abdominal muscles will make them much stronger, but they're not going to give you flat abs unless you're thin," said Dr. John Swartzberg, head of the editorial board at the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter.

"So you need to lose weight, so there's not a lot of fat over you abdominal muscles and you need to exercise those muscles so that when they are visible, it that's what you want, they will be thicker and stronger.

Dr. Swarztberg's advice: don't worry about having flat abs -- worry about having weak abdominal muscles.

"If you keep them strong, it's going to help you getting up from a chair or getting out of the car. And it's going to help protect your low back. So strong abs are really important, but don't worry about the flat abs."

The Wellness Letter says don't waste your money on exercise machines or electrical muscle stimulators that promise to tone your abs. And steer clear of special diets or dietary supplements that say they can melt away belly fat. It's not going to happen.

For More Information:

The truth about belly fat