Abdominal obesity: a marker of ectopic fat accumulation.
In the early 1980s, we analyzed the metabolic profile of 930 men and women and concluded that an abdominal distribution of fat for a given BMI is associated with increased insulin resistance and risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The correlation between abdominal fat and metabolic dysfunction has since been validated in many studies, and waist circumference is now a criterion for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. Several mechanisms for this relationship have been postulated; however, we now know that visceral fat is only one of many ectopic fat depots used when the subcutaneous adipose tissue cannot accommodate excess fat because of its limited expandability.
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D050156:Adipogenesis; D048429:Cell Size; D002828:Choristoma / Q000473:pathology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004704:Endocrinology / Q000266:history; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000473:pathology; D008066:Lipolysis; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000473:pathology; D008910:Minnesota; D008954:Models, Biological; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000473:pathology; D055105:Waist Circumference; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio