title: Predictors of Ectopic Fat in Humans.
abstract: In the last decade there has been increasing focus on body fat distribution, rather than on the degree of obesity. More recently, great interest has also been dedicated to ectopic fat deposition in overnourished individuals that reflects a failure of the system of intracellular lipid homeostasis, which, in normal conditions, prevents lipotoxicity in the organs, by confining lipid overload to cells specifically designed to store large quantities of surplus calories, the white adipocytes. Consequently, excess body weight leads to fat infiltration of multiple organs including liver, pancreas, skeletal muscle, and heart thus forming "ectopic fat". Although overfeeding is considered the main predictor of ectopic fat deposition, other factors may be also involved. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the current available data on the predictors of ectopic fat deposition in humans.
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. mauro.zamboni@univr.it.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zamboni
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. andrea.rossi@hotmail.it.
authors.forename: Andrea P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. francesco.fantin@univr.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fantin
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. simonabudui@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Simona L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Budui
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. elena.zoico@univr.it.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zoico
authors.affiliation: Institute od Radiology, University Hospital GB Rossi, Verona, Italy. gzamboni@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Giulia A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Zamboni
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. gloria.mazzali@ospedaleuniverona.it.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazzali
keywords: Adipose tissue; Ectopic fat