Study: Fat Location Risk Factor in Disease

A University of Pittsburgh study suggests the location of body fat is a risk factor in heart disease and diabetes, even among normal-weight individuals.

Bret Goodpaster and his colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said visceral fat — found in deeper tissues and around the body’s organs in older men and women — is associated with metabolic syndrome, a disorder that includes high cholesterol, insulin resistance and high blood pressure.

That syndrome is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, regardless of whether people are of normal weight, overweight or obese.

Metabolic syndrome affects 22 percent of adults in the U.S. and 42 percent of older men and women.

The researchers say patterns of fat distribution in middle-aged adults may bring an additional risk for metabolic syndrome, but it is not known whether that is true for older individuals.

The team examined the association between the pattern of distribution of body fat and metabolic syndrome in 3,035 men and women aged 70 to 79. The distribution of body fat was determined using computed tomography scanning.

The team’s findings were published in the April 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.