A wide-ranging study from the Uppsala University, with more than 325,000 volunteers, showed that deep belly fat is a main contributing peril aspect for developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The study also demonstrated that deep belly fat is a big peril factor in women in comparison to men. Nonetheless, the researchers examined how genes impact the build-up of fat and presented a novel, simpler method to analyze the amount of deep belly fat. The visceral fat—a type of fat stored around the intestines and organs in the belly—is known to be linked with a greater peril of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The new study was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
The researchers took it one stage ahead and by using genetic data showed that there is an actual causal association amid visceral fat and surged peril of heart attack, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. The scientists designed a method to easily analyze visceral fat content. The technique is useful for medical and research purposes. Dr. Torgny Karlsson—Statistician from the Uppsala University—said, “In an attempt to measure the quantity of visceral fat, expensive and advanced diagnostic imaging methods are needed. We have designed a simple method that estimates a person’s amount of deep belly fat from other factors and the method can thus be utilized in most clinics.”
On a similar note, recently, a study showed that internal body fat is important for the vital of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The experts from the ICCR (International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk) and the IAS (International Atherosclerosis Society), as well as Professor Bruce Griffin—from the UNIS (University of Surrey)—studied the roles of ectopic and fat in the pathophysiology of disease and studied practical suggestions for calculating these kinds of body fat in clinical practice. The study was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.