The clinical importance of visceral adiposity: a critical review of methods for visceral adipose tissue analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT. As a result of the rising epidemic of obesity, understanding body fat distribution and its clinical implications is critical to timely treatment. Visceral adipose tissue is a hormonally active component of total body fat, which possesses unique biochemical characteristics that influence several normal and pathological processes in the human body. Abnormally high deposition of visceral adipose tissue is known as visceral obesity. This body composition phenotype is associated with medical disorders such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and several malignancies including prostate, breast and colorectal cancers. Quantitative assessment of visceral obesity is important for evaluating the potential risk of development of these pathologies, as well as providing an accurate prognosis. This review aims to compare different methods of measuring visceral adiposity with emphasis on their advantages and drawbacks in clinical practice.

Influence of Male Obesity on Fertility

“…Th ese techniques can provide the most accurate data on the fat mass and off er better quantitative assessment of visceral adiposity compared to previous general and abdominal obesity anthropometric measures. ADP and DXA can provide precise measures of fat mass but can only indirectly evaluate visceral adiposity by monitoring changes in pressure within a closed chamber or by measuring the total body and trunk fat masses 24 . For overweight and obese patients, ADP was found to be a valid measure of fat mass, fat-free mass and percent body fat when compared with values determined by the DXA criterion 25 .…”

Visceral Fat and Association with Metabolic Risk Factors

“…Hypertriglyceridemia is a central correlate of visceral obesity. It is caused by a combination of increased liver VLDL triglyceride production and impaired clearance from the circulation [9][10][11][12][13].…”

Visceral adiposity index among young girls with PCOS and its association with phenotypes and metabolic risk

“…4 The review summarised that surrogate measures such as BMI and Waist circumference although inexpensive have limitations to measure visceral fat as they have least accuracy. The authors recommended more studies that could help advance accuracy and provide predictive results.…”

“…The authors recommended more studies that could help advance accuracy and provide predictive results. 4 PCOS is an emerging chronic endocrine disorder where obesity observed among 50-80% of cases has been reported as a precursor as well as a risk factor in the development of metabolic syndrome. The odds of obesity in PCOS was found to be 1.95 (1.52-2.50).…”